The Loved and the Lost
by Sihaya
Summary: FINISHED! SEQUEL POSTED! Will Turner had always loved another, but his feelings for her were always overshadowed by his feelings for Elizabeth. Can Will defeat love and loss to win the heart that already belongs to him? RR!
1. One: Like a Ghost from a Nightmare

Author's Note

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I hope you like my story, enough to review anyway. J I haven't read that much Pirates of the Caribbean Fanfiction, and I don't know what's been done a million times already, so I hope you bear with me and correct any mistakes that I may make. I only saw the movie once but I loved it and decided that I wanted to write a story for it, because if trends continue –haha- this section could become the new LOTR section (as Orlando Bloom is in both!). I'm going to try to make my character different from all the other colonial girl characters that I have come across, because let me tell you, every single one is a spunky, rebellious chick with a complete mind of her own. Not that I'm not all for that, but not _every _girl in colonial times could have been like that, or else the nation would have been completely conquered by bonnet-wearing girls in those awful penny loafers. Elizabeth from PotC is exactly that (I think). It's like the Mary Sue has been totally reincarnated back into colonial times and I want to throw up every time I read one of those characters. I hope you shared enough of my sentiment to continue reading. I'll try to update soon. By the way, this is PRE-POTC and I don't know what the name of the blacksmith was so I invented one.

Disclaimer

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I only own the plot and the original characters. The rest belongs to Walt Disney Pictures, etc, etc. 

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The Loved and the Lost

Chapter One: Like a Ghost from a Nightmare 

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            Serenity Williams was not the governor's daughter. She felt as if she was the farthest thing it as she crouched down to the straw-covered floor of their barn and tried to get her hands under the cow without being trampled for the last time. Milking this particular animal was always a chore, but she had never been this uncooperative. The cow was snorting and kicking the ground and protesting in every way that a cow could possibly protest in without being able to speak a word.

            _It would be refreshing to be someone important, _Serenity thought. _They don't have to deal with this nonsense. _

But Serenity's father was a working-class man, a gentleman, but a worker nonetheless. Therefore, her life was ridiculously unremarkable. She had no out-of-the-ordinary friends or any strange plans or secrets, unless you count that crush that she had had since she was thirteen on the blacksmith's apprentice as a secret. 

            Giving up, Serenity trudged out of the barn and into the sunlight. The ocean sparkled blue in the rays of the sun, and there was nothing that could be more appealing to her at that moment that sticking her feet in the surf for a moment. A small smile crossed her face as she pinned her hair back up from where it had fallen in a wavy brown mass around her shoulders. She would ask Anise to take over fighting with the cow for a moment while she walked down to the beach. She found Anise sitting on the back porch of their home, humming a soft tune under her breath and twirling knitting needles around her fingers. 

            "Anise," Serenity said, walking towards the steps where the servant girl was sitting. 

            "Miss," Anise said, springing to her feet and dropping her yarn creation onto the stairs. 

            "Could you milk the cow for a few minutes? She's not letting me anywhere near her today, and I just want to give my hands a break. I'll be back soon," Serenity promised. 

            "Of course," Anise said quietly, leaving the needles on the stairs as she hurried off to do her bidding. Serenity hated that sometimes, how they refused to treat her as herself instead of some rich brat who hadn't done a chore in her life. She peered closer at the yarn stitches- Anise was talented for a girl of fourteen. 

            Serenity peeked into the barn where Anise was sitting with the cow, milking her like it was any other day. She grinned at Anise as she passed by, who offered a shy, hesitant smile in return. She was one of three helpers around their home, which was all they could afford, which was why Serenity had to do chores and other everyday things. 

            The sand of the beach was warm to the soles of her feet as she walked along the line where the wet sand met the dry sand, her skirts bunched up in one hand and her shoes held in the other. The small waves soothed her tense muscles as she walked into the smaller waves, her toes feeling out the pebbles on the bottom. She panicked and lifted her skirts higher as a slightly larger wave broke onto her foot, leaving her lower leg exposed to the sun. She stuck her toes out from under her hem and lifted them a few inches off the ground, drying them in the warm rays.

            "Serenity," a warm voice said from behind her shoulder. Serenity jumped out of the waves and turned around to face the speaker. It was only Will, however, a fishing rod held in his right hand and a small box in his left. He had no shoes on either, and his hat lay several yards behind him on the sand. 

            "Hello, Will," she said.

            "What are you doing here without your shoes on?" Will asked, looking pointedly at the hand that held her shoes in them. 

            "I could ask you the same question," she answered, smiling. Will grinned- that same lopsided grin that he had been smiling all the years between the day that she met him and this day. "Did you catch anything?" she asked. 

            "Nah, not today," Will said, shifting the rod in his hands. "There's nothing in the ocean today, on account of the hurricane that's still out on the ocean. The waves will just keep getting bigger, and the fish will just keep swimming deeper until it's gone north enough." Serenity nodded. She had heard people speak of the storm in the town's only general store.

            "They say it's the storm of the century," Serenity said, squinting out at the black clouds that had been gathering just above the horizon for about a week. 

            "I agree," Will said as a gust of wind tore across the beach, causing the three-masters that were docked nearby to creak and rattle. "I'd hate to be at sea in a storm like that," he continued, looking out in the same direction that she was.

            "Ah, well," Serenity said, "a storm's good for business." Her father ran a small inn in the heart of their small town, populated mostly by fisherman and sailors who could only barter with the fish that they had caught the day before. "Maybe my father will be able to put a coin in his pocket instead of a salted bass."

            Will laughed. "Times can be hard," he agreed, "but we'll pull through. We always have."

            "Yes, we always have," Serenity laughed softly. "I just wish I could help more…that's why I'm getting a job."

            "Are you really?" Will said, smiling brightly at her good fortune. 

            "I'm going to be a governess," said Serenity. "Joy, joy."

            Will laughed. "To who?" 

            "The governor's nieces, two twin girls named Elisa and Christa. I hope I can tell them apart," she added dejectedly.

            "You'll be fine," said Will.

            "It's nice to know that someone thinks that way," Serenity said as a drop of rain landed on her shoulder. Will looked at the sky, which was gray with rain. "Is it the storm already?" she asked, looking at the billowing clouds above them.

            "Not quite yet," Will said, "but she'll get here within a few days. I'll walk you back to your house."

            "You don't have to do that," Serenity protested as Will put his hat on his head and tucked the rest of his fishing gear under his arm. "I got here alone well enough."

            He shook his head at her, the wavy ends of his hair blowing in the strengthening wind. "Of course I'm going to walk you home, Serenity. It's not like I'm some pirate that's going to leave you here alone in the rain," he said, laughing as she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. The rain blew into their faces as they continued along the dust-covered road that was the main street of their town, which all the businesses were located on. Serenity could hear the creaking of the various signs as they swung back and forth on their poles. 

            "I must show you this sword I've made," Will said excitedly as they happened upon the blacksmith's building.

            "You're making swords now? That's wonderful!" Serenity said.

            "Come on," Will urged, tugging his elbow. "It will only take a minute."

            Serenity glanced in the general direction of the inn, and as she saw no harm in it, she followed Will through the doors and into the dim room that served as their workshop. Will dropped his gear onto an empty table and disappeared for a moment into the shadows, emerging with a glinting sheath in his hands. She ran her index finger along the metal sheath as he drew the sword out of it and turned the blade protectively away from her.

            "It's beautiful," she said admiringly. The hilt was gilded with a pattern like waves rolling in the ocean. Will swung it in a little arc through the air.

            "It's a far improvement from the first one I made," Will said proudly, swinging it skillfully in a little arc through the air. Serenity smiled. 

            "I didn't know you knew how to swordfight, William Turner," she said playfully.

            "Barnaby said it will help catch me a woman," said Will in a mixed expression of doubtfulness and hopefulness. 

            "Not like you'll have any trouble with that," Serenity said, laughing. Will smiled and sheathed the sword. He placed it on the table and then took Serenity's arm again.

            "You really don't have to walk me home, you know," she said as they went back out into the rain. "The inn's only a hundred yards away!"

            "You never know what might be lurking between here and a hundred yards from here," he replied in mock seriousness. Serenity laughed as the outline of the inn grew apparent through the quickening rain. 

            "Thank you, William," she grinned. 

            "Goodbye, Serenity," he said, kissing her on the cheek. Serenity smiled at him and patted his shoulder and then she went inside. 

            The parlor of the inn was dim, as there was only a cluster of stubby candles sitting on the table that stood next to the stairs. Serenity hung her bonnet on one of the pegs and grabbed one of the candles. Her mother would probably be in the kitchen, where she usually was at this hour. There was one woman who cooked in the kitchen, but four hands were more adept at making dinner for an entire family, servants, and usually a few guests that were spending the night. 

            "Hello, Mother," Serenity said, seeing her mother clearly in the bright kitchen. She put her candle on the table as her mother wiped her hands off on a wet cloth and came over to her daughter.

            "Serenity," her mother said in greeting as she searched her daughter's face for signs of cold or fever. "What were you doing out in the storm? You know that the last time you were out in the rain you couldn't get out of bed for days," she continued, a wrinkled of worry appearing over her eyes.

            "I only walked down to the beach for a moment, before it began raining," Serenity said, stepping away from her mother's concerned eyes and grabbing a knife so that she could chop the pile of vegetables that were waiting on the counter. "Will was there and he walked me home."

            "Yes, Will's a good lad," her mother said approvingly.

            "We're friends, mother," Serenity said defensively.

            "Well, if you decide to marry him, you know that you have your father's blessing," her mother continued stubbornly. "He is making a living for himself, and he's scarcely older than you are."

            "Yes, I know," Serenity said, deciding not to tell her mother about the detour into the blacksmith's workshop. Her mother would have a fit- 'alone _without_ a _chaperone_!' Mrs. Williams could be like that sometimes- she would be willing to bless any marriage, but if you should be _alone _with them, then they were unfit to be in the same room together with a bunch of other people. And for once Serenity didn't feel guilty about telling a lie- she knew that nothing had happened between herself and William Turner, so why should her mother have to worry about it? 

            She finished slicing a tomato and placed the thin pieces in a bowl for her mother to add to their stew and then she wandered off into her room. The room was cold and looked rather forbidding until Serenity lit the candles that she had placed around her room. Then she sat at her desk and made a few notes in her diary about what she had done that day, and some of her base feelings. That day, however, she found it hard to concentrate on the words she was writing on the page and her quill slipped out of her hand mid-sentence.

            _What is bothering me today? _Serenity thought, placing a head to her forehead. _Maybe I do have a fever._

            All she could think about was how she just wanted to see William Turner's sweet face again. 

~*~

            William searched all over the shop for Barnaby, his 'teacher,' but he was unable to be found. It was still a little early to be at the bar, but even so, that's where he probably was. Since Will didn't feel like venturing out into the cold and rain again, he began shaping another blade on his working table. He dreamt up patterns that he could engrave into the hilt on this one, something to make it different from the other swords that he had made. The rain tapped on the window as he shaped the silver metals in his strong hands, shaping with such love a blade that would kill. His mind wandered from his work periodically, dancing over what he had done that day and what he wanted to do the next day. He could probably continue working on the blade, since he wouldn't be able to start the hilt until the blade was finished. He thought of Elizabeth.

            Elizabeth Swann was one of the two women in his life that he actually cared about, the other being Serenity Williams. Elizabeth's beautiful features had captivated him ever since he had first laid eyes on her that day that she had awoken him on board the boat. He had really been in love with her since the first time he saw her. The problem was that they never saw each other, ever- her being the governor's daughter and him being the blacksmith's apprentice. Will sighed as he pounded the metal flat on his working table. This train of thought had been running through his head for a long time. He never really had seen Elizabeth since that day on the boat, not for more than a minute. He had glimpsed her in her carriage, and once standing at the balcony of her home as he rode past, and a third time greeting the commodore with her father as he returned from yet another voyage for the British Navy. But still, she remained a sort of mysterious figure that couldn't be caught, a kind of feminine romantic hero that had disappeared into his past like a ghost from a nightmare.

            Will pounded his feelings away into the metal as he worked long into the night, transferring all his feelings into that particular blade as the rain fell against his window in a never-ending downpour.


	2. Two: Not Your Average Sailor

Author's Note

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Yay, chapter dos. I love you all! And I'm not going to put a disclaimer on every chapter, because it's just so boring and after a while I have nothing new to say to you about what I own and what I don't, so don't sue me. I wish I did own Will, but I don't. *cries* ah well.

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Chapter Two

Not Your Average Sailor

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            Serenity sat down with her relatively small family and the servants for dinner that night. The people staying in the rooms had the option of eating there, or eating at the community table in the other room. However, Serenity, her parents, her older brother Thomas and their servants sat down at a small round table in the kitchen. Her father spoke with Bartholomew and Thomas about business and what the British Navy was doing, her mother quietly mentioned to Liza something about knitting new quilts for the beds, as winter was drawing near, and Serenity sat gazing out the window towards the sea. She couldn't see the ocean, as the curtains of rain obstructed her view, but she could imagine the Caribbean blue of their ocean turning the slate gray of the North in the storm. Serenity fancied hearing the crashing of the waves over the babble of conversation from the other dining room as she picked apart her chicken with her fork. 

            "Serenity," her mother said quietly, "It's not good manners to play with your food. A lady never plays with her food."

            "You also said that a lady never eats much," Serenity said softly, "so what else is she to do with it?"

            "Serenity," said Mother in a warning tone. "A lady takes small bites and chews daintily, but everyone must eat." She gestured towards the chicken on the plate. "Now, eat."

            "Yes, Mother," Serenity said, delicately cutting a tiny piece of the chicken off and placing it into her mouth. She would have sighed, had her mouth not been full. She didn't understand why she had to memorize all these etiquette lessons if the only place to put them to use was when eating in front of the guests. Maybe they would be able to be put to use in the home of the Lady Chastity, however, as she supposed that they were rich and all that they would be looking for manners in their governess.

            A knock sounded from the front door, and Mother stood up and smoothed her skirts as to greet the newcomer. Mildly curious, Serenity craned her neck around so that she might catch a glimpse of the person that had come to stay. The sounds of the growing storm roared into the kitchen as the door opened, and Serenity was inclined to believe that Will had been wrong in saying that this was not the actual hurricane. 

            "Welcome to the Four Posts Inn," she heard her mother say as the door closed, shutting out the sounds of the rain and thunder. The Inn had been named so because there were four hitching posts located outside of the door, but mostly the building was just plainly referred too as The Inn. "How long would you like to be staying?"

            "I'm not sure," came the voice of the stranger. It was a male voice, and it wasn't old sounding, but it was a tired voice. 

            "Would you like to be having dinner now?"

            "Please," came the voice again. Serenity could hear her mother leading the man into the adjoining dining room, where his voice was lost in the chorus of the different conversations that were stopped for a moment to look upon the newcomer, and then began again where they had left off. A moment later Mother materialized inside the door of the kitchen and shut it behind her, leaving the kitchen silent save the sounds of knives and forks scraping plates.

            "We have a new guest," she said, stating the obvious.

            "What's his name?" asked Serenity.

            "He didn't say, and you will not be nosy and go asking him questions," she reprimanded. Serenity glanced once more at the door of the kitchen. 

            "How old was he?" Serenity continued.

            "Just a bit older than you, I think," she said, the hope that this was the extent of Serenity's curiosity showing on her face.

            "Oh."

            "Will we be paid with coins instead of fish this time?" her father inquired.

            "He didn't say. He doesn't look like a fisherman. Maybe a sailor, though, he didn't say. I do hope he has some coins in his pocket, though," Mother continued. "It would be nice to barter with coins instead of trout or tuna or bass at market." The servants agreed quietly as they continued eating their dinner. 

            Serenity finished eating and took her plate over to the washbasin, where she scrubbed it and then left it on the rack to dry. She then walked purposely past the dining room so that she might catch a glimpse of this new face. However, he wasn't facing her, so she only glimpsed the back of his head as she continued up the stairs. She could tell that he had a tan complexion, from spending long hours in the sun, and he had dirty blonde hair that was sun streaked with red highlights. He had strong shoulders and arms- a sailor, no doubt. A single earring glinted in the candlelight as she reached the door to her room. Finally, something that separated this young man from the other sailors staying with them- they didn't see many earrings at the Inn. 

~*~

            Barnaby basically fell into the door of the blacksmith's workshop, awaking Will with a start from where he was crammed into a seat in the corner of the room, sleeping. The blacksmith's short, round frame could be seen quite visibly in the light from the candles which Will had placed around the office. 

            "It's about time you got home, Barnaby," said Will, shaking the sleep from his eyes. "I was beginning to worry." An edge of sarcasm crept into his voice, but the old man was too drunk to notice it.

            "Th' p'lice," he slurred, "Th'y want mo' h'ndcffs."

            Will, who had spent most of his life deciphering Barnaby's drunken slang, clearly understood what the man had said. "I'll make the handcuffs tomorrow," he said, helping his master into a seated position in his favorite chair. He fell asleep immediately and Will decided to transfer his own tired bones into his bed. He bunked in a small room that he had built next to the workshop, since he had nowhere else to go, and he slept in a hammock that he had strung from one end of the room to the other. He curled up in the hammock and was rocked to sleep by the breaths of wind coming through the crack in the single window that his hole boasted. A flash of lightning illuminated his dreams as he fell into the abyss that was the sleep of an orphan.

~*~

            The next morning dawned clear, sunny, and apologetic, which Will decided to take advantage of. Barnaby was knocked out cold, having fallen off his chair in the night in his drunken slumber. Having checked to make sure that Barnaby would be asleep for at least another two hours, Will swung up on the only horse that the blacksmith owned and rode down to the beach to check out the debris left by the storm's appetizer. A million beautiful shells sparkled in the sunlight, and Will led the horse down the surf, sliding the especially lovely ones into the saddlebags. One shell, however, took his breath away- it was a conch shell, pale of color, with white and pinkish streaks running over the smooth rounded surface and into the jagged claw-like opening on the bottom. He ran his finger over the underside, which bended in on itself into a rounded out version of pointed teeth. The kaleidoscope of pale colors- oranges and pinks and opalescent whites, they dazzled him as he held it up to the sun. He slipped it in a separate saddlebag, reminding himself to remove the shells to his room after he returned to the shop. His teacher already thought him a _pansy _as it was. 

            As Will sat back in the saddle, an idea occurred to him to set some of the shells into the hilt of the new sword that he was making, improving on the wave design that was featured in the sword that he had shown Serenity. As he was turning his steed around to return, he faced away from the dock, which was swarming with British soldiers, and instead the wide beach stretched out in front of him. A long empty beach like that was not to be left un-ridden. Will grinned and spurred his horse in the direction of the empty sand, urging it to go faster. The wind tore through his hair as he flew down the beach until they were past the limits of their town of Port Royale and the horse was tired. 

            The road was dusty and vacant as the horse traveled quietly back towards home. Will was still smiling from the sprint down the sand, his spirit still flying on the energy of being nothing, being carried along above the waves like some kind of bird on hurricane winds. He was still smiling when they reentered the town, looking like some grinning fool on horseback to the frazzled townspeople below, which he was, in principle.  Unfamiliar faces swarmed in front of the Four Posts Inn, Serenity waved to him from behind an angry cow, and a few more friends greeted him as he rode down the side of the busy street. 

            Soon, however, he came upon the governor's sprawling homestead located just on the edge of the heart of the town. It was white and surrounded by a picket fence. A single British officer kept guard outside the gates, his rifle glinting in the sun as the beautiful conch shell had. Will's good mood was diminished as he passed the house and finally entered the dark workshop once more. Barnaby was sleeping as he picked out some of the shells to put into the hilt, and then he placed the rest of them in a leather pouch that he hung on a metal peg that was sticking out of the wall in his room. 

            He began making the requested handcuffs, working with the scrap metal that he found lying around the shop. He heated them in the oven and then began over, finishing three pairs before Barnaby stirred.

            "Good work, boy," he grunted, slapping Will on the back as he passed by on his way to the keg outside. 

            As he waited for the metal to harden, Will began planning the hilt of his newest project. He drew a stencil on the table and laid out the shells on it, not needing a candle to work because the sun was ironically shining steadily through the window.

            It was this sun that lit Serenity's way up to the young man's room to bring him his lunch.

            "Sir?" she said through the door, knocking on it with her fist. "Sir, your lunch…"

            The door swung open, revealing to her a face half covered with shaving cream and eyes that were covered by shaggy hair. 

            "What's your name?" he asked directly, taking the tray from her and propping the door open with his right foot.

            "Serenity," she answered, taken aback slightly by his directness.

            "I'm Daniel," he said.

            "Nice to meet you, Daniel," she said politely. He squinted at her, as if to see her more clearly. She narrowed her eyes back at him. _Should I protest and tell him that ladies are not to be looked at like that? No, don't be a pansy. _Serenity full out glared at him, trying not to let a smile cross her face.

            Daniel suddenly smiled widely, his grin revealing white teeth that were surprisingly straight, unlike the rest of the sailors that they got around the Inn. Serenity smirked at him. "Enjoy your lunch, _sir,_" she said, returning down the hallway, already thinking over everything that he had done. He was downright peculiar, a strange man who was not much older than herself, as her mother had told her.

            "Daniel," she said to herself, wrinkling her nose as she dwelled on the encounter. Either too many hours in the sun had done him wrong, or he just was not your average sailor.


	3. Three: The Gifts of the Storm

A/N- Review! Review!

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Chapter Three

The Gifts of the Storm

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            Daniel didn't emerge from his room again until it was time for dinner, and unfortunately between the time Serenity had brought him his lunch and the time that dinner was being served, one of their servants fell sick and Serenity had to help serve the inn's occupants their dinner. Surprisingly Daniel joined the rest of them at the large table that the Inn's guests ate at, and made an effort at conversation with a few of them. Serenity brought him his plate as she had the others.

            "Thanks, _Serenity,_" he said, grinning at her. 

            "It's my pleasure to serve you, Daniel," she replied lightly. Daniel laughed-a kind of grunting chuckle- and dug into the steak that was the meal that night. He ate as if he hadn't eaten in ages, as if there had been no food but rats and bones aboard whatever ship he had been on. Serenity tried not to stare at him as she left the dining room, not because of the strange way that he was devouring his meal but of the strangeness of his person, overall. He was fairly normal looking, he didn't have any long, jagged scars on his face or any tattoos or an eye patch, but there was this look in his eyes that you could tell something about his character. You just weren't sure exactly what you were seeing through those surprisingly dark eyes of his.

            Serenity tried to shake the unsettling feeling that he left with her as she sat at her place in the kitchen and waited for her father to be through with grace. Those eyes filled with a feeling of disconcerting, empty incompleteness stayed in her mind and in her dreams long after the last traces of steak had been eaten from her plate.

            The next morning, Daniel was gone, but he had not checked out of the Inn. Serenity expected a soon return and sat in the barn, hidden from sight, but watching nonetheless. After a while she grew weary, however, and went inside where she could only wonder of where the sailor had gone.

~*~

            Will found a stranger standing on the beach in his fishing spot. The stranger was looking out to sea, his eyes filled with an intensity, with a kind of watching, as if he was waiting for the storm or something else to come flying across the horizon to him, where it belonged. So Will set up his gear about a hundred yards down the shore, prepared for yet another long day of waiting for a bite, waiting for anything to bite. The sea had long since washed away the gifts of the storm that had littered the beach the day before, but by the looks of the sky it wouldn't be long before more interesting debris showed up on Port Royale sands. The clouds were tinted strange hues in the morning, and before long the sailors on the dock predicted that the clouds would turn the total red of a hurricane morning. 

            The stranger seemed to give up waiting and began to walk towards where Will was seated, barefooted, with a fishing rod stuck deep in the sands between his legs. As he drew closer Will could see the auburn streaks in his hair, and the form of well-toned muscles underneath his shirt- a sailor, most likely. His eyes held the depths of the ocean as he stared fixedly at Will as he drew closer.

            "Hello," he said, his voice slightly deeper than Will had expected.

            "Hullo," Will replied friendlily, scooting himself into a standing position, keeping an eye on his fishing pole as he extended his right hand towards the stranger. "I'm William Turner."

            "I'm Daniel," Daniel said, taking the hand offered too him. He had a strong grip, and his skin was rough with calluses. "I'm wondering if you know something- have any ships docked here lately, or have any been spotted out to shore?"

            "Not with this hurricane on the waves," Will said certainly. "I'm sure we won't have any ships dock here for a week at least, until the weather calms down."

            Daniel squinted at him, almost a glare. Will shifted uncomfortably, the feeling of mistrust for this man growing by the second.

            "It's very important that a ship comes in," said Daniel. 

            Will shrugged. "I haven't seen any."

            Daniel looked at him as if he didn't know if he could trust his word, but the moment was interrupted by a very familiar voice calling from the top of the beach. "Daniel!" Will and Daniel simultaneously looked towards the speaker- it was Serenity, no doubt, scrambling down the dunes towards the two.

            "Serenity!" Will called to her. Serenity looked from one face to the other, trying to figure what the two of them could be doing here talking to each other.

            "Hello Daniel, Will," Serenity said. 

            "I didn't know you knew him," said Daniel.

            "Nor did I," said Will, both of them looking at each other and then back at Serenity, who had a very bewildered expression on her face.

            "Daniel, my mother wished me to find you and tell you that it's time for supper," she said. Daniel began striding up the beach, leaving her and Will behind.

            "I don't like him," Will said quietly.

            "Why not?" Serenity asked, tilting her head. "And what concern is it to you?"

            Will was at a loss for words, and Serenity knew it. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Good day, Will," Serenity said kindly, and then turned to follow Daniel up the slope and back to the Inn.

            He didn't know why he felt such a strong dislike for Daniel, who had scarce spoken ten sentences to him. Daniel seemed to represent, from that meeting, everything that William Turner distrusted in a man. He seemed like a scoundrel who had wandered drunkenly into town one day and decided to hurt everyone within a mile's radius.

            Serenity also was wondering what the problem was with the two of them, and as she caught up to Daniel she cautiously asked why. "I didn't know you knew William," she said carefully.

            "I don't, I just needed to ask him something."

            "Something you couldn't have asked me?"

            "He was there."

            "So was I."

            "Not at the time I needed an answer."

            "Oh."

            They walked the rest of the way in silence, and came upon the Inn, whose occupants were already halfway through their meals. They departed at the parlor and went into their two separate dining rooms.

            "You found Daniel?" Mother inquired.

            "Yes, he was on the beach, speaking to William Turner."

            "Oh," said Mother, raising her delicate eyebrows and serving Serenity some rice.

            By this time, Will had already returned to the workshop, lighted with candles that were burned down to globs of wax stuck to the candleholders. He lighted the charred wicks of the rest of them and then halfheartedly returned to his work, this time on the sword. The conch shell caught his eye from the windowsill as he worked, causing a slight smile to spread across his downhearted features. The shell seemed to remind him of someone- probably of Elizabeth. It was made of all the things that Elizabeth was made of- graceful lines, beautiful colors, and a pleasing appearance. He mentally shrugged off the thought and returned to carving an engraving into the blade. He had never tried such a task on this kind of blade before and was eager to see how it would turn out. As he felt the blade in his hands he knew that it would serve its owner well, for it was surprisingly light without the hilt. He placed it back onto the table and unsheathed another sword, also of his creation, from where it was hanging from a rack on the wall. He waved it into the air, jabbing at some imaginary pirate, pivoting on his heel and jabbing at another, and another-

            The door creaked open, and a cloaked figure appeared in the doorway. Will stopped his movements, the sword still hovering in midair, as he watched the person lift the hood from their face. But it was only Serenity.

            "Will," she said warmly, crossing the workshop to where he stood. She moved around a pile of scrap metal to come face to face with him, as he re-sheathed the sword. "I just needed to talk to you about what was going on between you and Daniel this afternoon."

            "Who is he, for starters?" Will asked, offering Serenity a chair, which she took. He then drew another up close to her and placed a candle on a nearby table. Her features were illuminated in the glow as she answered his question.

            "He came to the Inn and spent the night, that's all," Serenity said. "Why are you so defensive against him?"

            "There's something about him that I don't trust," Will said simply.

            "You only met him once," Serenity protested gently, shaking her head, which caused a strand of her brown wavy hair to fall loose from where it was bound on top of her head. "What has he done to offend you?"

            Will sighed. "Nothing," he said honestly. "That's the strange thing about him."

            "He is an interesting… _character," _Serenity said, "but he doesn't offend me really, or put me on guard against him. He's not…_dangerous." _

Will smiled. "I didn't say he was," he pointed out.

            "But you're acting like I need to be protected from him," said Serenity. "I just want you to know that you don't have to worry about any of that," she continued, standing up and drawing her hood up against the rain, which had begun falling again about an hour ago. "I'll be fine. Goodbye, Will," she said, kissing his cheek and then walking to the door. "Try to be kind to my father's customers." She disappeared out the doorway and into the rain before Will could offer to walk her home.


	4. Four: Lifeboats in the Ocean

Thank you Evana and FreakishlyDisturbed13 for your reviews! Zeech- thanks for your insight, I really appreciate it! 

~*~

Chapter Four

Lifeboats in the Ocean

~*~

            The next day, Serenity awoke to black clouds with scarlet hues around their lining. _Any day now,_ she thought, dressing in her Sunday best, for today was the day that she began work at the home of Lady Chastity, the mother of the twins Elisa and Christa. She made sure her hair was smooth and her dress unwrinkled before she went down to the kitchen to grab a thick slice of bread from the cutting board. The occupants of the inn were already wide awake and moving about, eating breakfast when they pleased, the servants cleaning the rooms when the guests were out of it. Serenity swung her cloak around her shoulders and walked to the stable that they kept next to the barn. It was small, but it held her family's two horses and the horses of whatever guests that they had adequately. 

            A lovely palomino occupied the third stall. This was the horse that usually bore Serenity around when she needed a steed. Quickly she made sure that there were no mats in the horses mane and tail, and that the horse's coat was not especially dirty, and then she sat herself in the saddle and grabbed the reins in both of her gloved hands. 

            The air was still and thick when she ventured out of the stable. Not even a single bird was singing, and the town had grown ominously still, save for a few fishermen still combing the waves for a small catch. The beach glittered with shells that had washed up from the recently violent waves, carried with the hurricane from faraway places to Port Royale's shores. However, Serenity steered the horse in the opposite direction of the beach, towards the home of the governor's family.

            The day passed slowly, but looking after the two children was not as hard as Serenity imagined it to be. They were very well behaved, sweet little girls, and Serenity was relieved when she met Madame Swann, who didn't look down her nose and wrinkle it at her or something dreadful like that. The two tutors, the main tutor Sir Jacobs and the etiquette tutor Madame Hashely, were civil, but Madame Hashely in particular seemed not to like Serenity that much. It was odd, but Serenity got through the day and returned to her home without any significant traumas.

            However, things went slightly downhill from there once she got home. 

            Daniel was leaning against one of the posts, his pointed hat pulled low over his eyes, smoking a thick cigar and looking at the ground. Graceful wisps of ghostly smoke curled around his head as Serenity rode up to him and pulled the rains, slowing the horse to a halt. Daniel puffed on his cigar as if in greeting.

            "Hello, Daniel," said Serenity cautiously, not knowing exactly what to expect with him.

            "Hel-lo," said Daniel. "What's a pretty thing like you doin' out in a storm like this?"

            "It's not storming yet."

            "Hmph," Daniel stood up, transferring his weight from the post to his own two feet, and walked over to her horse with a cockiness that was the first time showing since he had arrived. "Still," he said, grinning up at her, "Things might not be _safe._ Wouldn't want a lass like you hanging around the wrong kind of people, get what I'm saying?"

            Serenity leaned closer. "What in the pits of Hades are you talking about, Daniel?"

            Daniel leaned up towards her, following her eyes with his own black ones. "Abso-lutely nothing."

            "Are you drunk?" she whispered.

            "No," he laughed, "sailor's don't get drunk."

            "Then what are you?"

            "I," said Daniel with a swagger, "I am a"-

            "Serenity!"

            Daniel fiercely pressed his lips against hers for a moment, trying to force his tongue into her mouth. For the once second that his mouth was on hers, Serenity tasted rum. No doubt about it, he was drunker than he had probably ever been in his life. She put her hands up to his face and pushed him away from her. The sudden movements caused her horse to sidestep, catching Serenity unawares. She fell from her sidesaddle position, right into the arms-

            Right into the arms of William Turner, who was looking at her as if she were some kind of alien creature.

            "Hullo, Will," she said shakily. 

            "Serenity!" he repeated her name, the word weighted with surprise and scandal. His hands curled around her shoulder and her knee, where he had caught her, brushing against the skin of her neck. She shivered in his arms as he looked towards Daniel, leaning arrogantly against the same post that he had been previously.

            Will set Serenity down on her feet and supported her with a hand around her waist as he stepped towards Daniel. 

            "What're you gonna do?" Daniel asked, shrugging. "Pretty girl on the street, storm of the century's bearing down upon us," Daniel laughed wildly, "we're all going to die, nothing better to do…"

            "He's drunk," Serenity whispered, her lips brushing against Will's ear, her hand clutching the cloth of his sleeve. She tried to convince herself that she was fine, that she could stand on her own, that she wasn't just feathers and dust…but she couldn't. She put as much of her weight on her feet as she could, but still held on to Will's arm as if he were her lifeboat in the ocean. His hand tightened protectively around her waist- hadn't he always been there to protect her? Always, Will had been there, like some freakishly human guardian spirit. 

            "Does that matter?" hissed Will, turning towards her for a second, and then back to Daniel, still flopping his body against the post. "He's not slurring his words."

            "He's a sailor," said Serenity. Will sighed.

            "Maybe we should just leave him here," he suggested, "Leave him here until the alcohol wears off."

            "I don't know," Serenity said, looking towards the ocean. A wave was roaring towards the town across the surface of the water, crashing on the sand with more might than she had ever seen a wave with before. White foam splashed up from the impact, soaring through the air to land farther up on the beach, as if the storm was marking its territory.

            "Let him rot," said Will. He slapped the palomino, which ambled into the stable, and then led Serenity down the road towards his workshop. 

            "No," Serenity said, "I have to go home, my parents will be worried."

            "I'll take you back as soon as that scoundrel goes back inside." Will led Serenity into the shop, the governor's house casting shadows through the streets as the sun set behind it.

~*~

            Elizabeth Swann sat at her bedroom window, her eyes trained on the door to the blacksmith's shop. Although her home was set back a bit from the road, as befits a governor's house, she could still see Will walking with some girl down the road. He had both arms protectively around her, and she was leaning into him as if she needed him, as if he were her life support. Trying to fight down the evil feelings of jealousy that rose inside of her, Elizabeth stepped away from the window and tried to focus on the book that she was trying to read. But the task was impossible, as the image of Will and that girl kept swimming in front of the pages, blurring the words and making the sentences unintelligible. _Why do I feel this way about him? _Thought Elizabeth desperately. _He's only the blacksmith's apprentice. _

            But she couldn't help envying the girl that he had been walking with. The image of the girl stayed in her mind long after she finally stepped away from the window to try a succession of various attempts to remove her mind of the subject of William Turner. 

            _Will belongs to me,_ a voice inside cried out. But the thought was in vain.

~*~

            "Will," said Serenity for the tenth time, holding a cup of tea in her hands. "This really isn't necessary. _Really. _I can go home now, I'm fine…"

            "No," Will said. "That Daniel is probably still drunk and leering at every woman that passes by his door. I wouldn't…" Will sighed. "I wouldn't feel safe." 

            "Will," said Serenity calmly, "you're too worried about things."

            "I don't want"-

            "You don't want me to get hurt," she finished. "But my parent's are there and all, what safer place would there be?" Still seeing the uncertain look in Will's eyes, she took his hand and tilted his chin up so that he would look at her. "I'll stay away from Daniel until he's sober again," she said, brushing her cheek against his in farewell. "Thank you for everything, Will," she said, walking out the door once more, and temporarily out of William Turner's life.

~*~

            It was late at night when the girl left the workshop. Elizabeth could see her face clearly now, and made a mental note to remember it until she saw her again.

            _I need to know who she is. I just need to know who she is…_

~*~*~*~

I hope you liked! Review! Tell all your friends! J


	5. Five: Storm on the Sands

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Chapter Five

Storm on the Sands

~*~

            The sky dawned scarlet the next morning, a sure warning of the inevitable. Serenity stood on the beach next to Grandpa Joe, an old African man that worked for her father on occasion. Grandpa Joe had a touch with fish, and he had gone to the beach to scrounge up some dinner for the family and their occupants. In a few hours Serenity would have to go back and dress for work, but she pushed the thoughts of the Swann family back in her head as she knead her toes into the sand. The air was thick as plate glass, but it seemed as if one loud noise would shatter the feeling like a bullet through a window, unleashing the fury of the storm upon Port Royale. A wave rode up on the beach, crashing into the ships that were lashed to the dock, but otherwise the ocean was flat as a pond on a midsummer's evening. Far out to sea, a whitecap crested and then disappeared. 

            "It's a big one," said Grandpa Joe in that wheezing voice of his as he reeled in a trout and dropped it into a bucket. "Fury of Heaven and Hell, this one."

            "Have you seen many storms like this?"

            "Only one other," he said, the fishing pole still. "Sky was even redder than it is yonder."

            Serenity exhaled and walked closer to the surf. It lapped up on her toes, washing the sand away. A fragile seashell crunched beneath her foot as she took another step in, accidentally dragging the hem of her skirt in the waves. But, she let it stay. The Caribbean salt water was cool on her feet, contrasting with the already warm sand. A ray of sun broke through the brilliant red clouds, and then disappeared. The sun did not show again for many hours. 

            The occupants of the Inn were swarming around, helping to nail boards over windows and closing shutters and bringing in water so that they wouldn't have to go outside for it in the storm. That is, every occupant except Daniel, who was walking along the empty dock like he was some kind of guard dog in a hangover. He couldn't remember the last night, but then, how many times had he had that feeling? He was accustomed to it.

            Once more he looked out to sea, his sharp dark eyes scanning the red horizon for a bump on the sea that might be a ship. Blasted storm. Why had it come now, when he needed the sea on its best behavior? 

            But storm or no, the sea was as empty as the rum bottle in his hand, and there was nothing that Daniel could do about it.

~*~

            Meanwhile, at the home of the governor, preparations were being made much like they were being made at the Inn. Candles and boxes of matches were being arranged together on every surface, and oil was being stored away so that they could use it in the darkest hour. Elizabeth viewed the business from above, from her bedroom window, watching down like a queen looking upon her many subjects. The countless servants in the governor's employ were going about with worried looks on their faces. A part of their anxiety reached Elizabeth, and she searched in vain for something at her house to do. When she couldn't find anything, she decided to call on her cousins. Their angelic sweetness always had a special place inside Elizabeth's heart.

            It was around nine in the morning when Elizabeth arrived at her aunt's home. The windows were already boarded up, and servants were going about their daily routine, glancing up at the sky every few minutes. 

            "Hello, Elizabeth," greeted her aunt warmly. "I haven't seen you in a while, I've been so busy, there's just no time to call!"

            "I know," said Elizabeth. "May I see my cousins?"

            "They're in a lesson, but I'm sure it can be arranged, my dear. Come with me." Her aunt led her into the study, where four people occupied the room instead of three. Elizabeth looked at the new person: a girl, a strangely familiar girl, who rose gracefully to her feet and dropped a curtsy as Elizabeth appeared.

            "Hello, Elisa, Christa," said Elizabeth happily as she knelt down to hug her cousins, but her eyes strayed to the stranger, who was looking down at the floor. "You must be the new governess," said Elizabeth to the girl, whose eyes then rose to meet hers. Elizabeth was shocked into remembering where she had seen the girl- that was the woman that will had been seeing at the smithies shop! 

            "Yes, m'lady," she answered, addressing Elizabeth as the servants did but meeting her eyes like an equal. 

            "What is your name?" Elizabeth demanded.

            "Serenity Williams," she replied promptly, adding as an afterthought, "M'lady."

            Elizabeth graced Serenity with a tight smile and then turned back to her two cousins. Serenity stepped back and sat down, watching the way Elizabeth interacted with the two girls. She was kneeling down to meet them, but they were still much shorter than she was. Elizabeth asked them various questions about their schoolwork and how they were doing, nothing out of the ordinary. She then turned back to Serenity, an unreadable expression in her eyes. If Serenity had been daft and dumb, she would have labeled the strange expression as jealousy, maybe sadness, but then what would the governor's daughter have to be jealous about a young girl that worked in her father's inn?

            "Good day," she said, her words edged with iciness. The lesson then resumed for the two girls, and Elizabeth went to speak with her aunt.

~*~

            The winds started to howl as Serenity was leaving work. Fat drops of rain fell from the sky at random as she continued down the road, the water changing the dirt to mud. She tried her best to keep her shoes clean as she walked down towards the inn. 

            However, she was distracted by a lone figure standing on the beach before the raging waves. _Daniel,_ thought Serenity, panicked. _Ignore him. He doesn't deserve to be acknowledged. _But something pulled her towards the sailor, a mix of curiosity and a strange longing. The kiss that Daniel had forced on her last night had been the first kiss that she had received in a long time, and even if it was from a drunken fool, it was still, nevertheless, a kiss. She walked silently down the road towards him, her cloak blowing behind her in the wind. Her hands rose to her throat to keep her hood on against the wind as the rain fell faster, in sheets. 

            Daniel heard her. He just didn't want to turn around. He let Serenity come up on him until he could feel her breath on his neck, which was unprotected from the weather. His hair blew around his face, not long enough to reach his shoulders, but long enough for the wind to play with it. In the hours that he had stood hoping for the same wind to carry the ship to him, he had gained a vague recollection of what he had done in his drunkenness the last night. He didn't regret it- he spent more times drunk than sober, so who he was when he was drunk was who he was most of the time. _Live with it. _

            "Daniel," said Serenity. Her voice shook slightly, causing Daniel to smile. She was afraid of him. She had no reason to be afraid- she didn't know that he could pick her up by her shoulders and throw her out to sea to drown in those waves if he really wanted to. But her voice was shaking still, and he knew enough of what had happened the last night to know that that was the reason she was nervous.

            "Serenity," he replied a moment later in kind. "Nice weather we're having…?"

            "Daniel," she said again, more in control of her voice than she had been before. "I need to know some things. I need to know them _now,_ so please do me the courtesy of giving me straight answers this time. I'm not here to play games with you. I just need to know."

            "Shoot," he said.

            "What do you have against William Turner, why are you here in Port Royale, what are you doing standing on the dock when a hurricane's fury is going to rain down on us any moment, and why did you kiss me last night?" Serenity fired at him.

            "Let's see," said Daniel, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "William Turner is a prat, I'm here on business, enjoying the lovely view, and you're such a pretty girl, Serenity," Daniel leaned in real close, close enough so that Serenity could see the pores on his nose, "I just _couldn't_ resist."

            Serenity would have slapped Daniel at that moment but she knew that it wouldn't hurt him. It seemed like nothing ever did.

            "How about now," said Serenity, leaning a millimeter closer, "How about you tell me the truth now?"

            "I'm afraid I can't do that, Serenity," Daniel said. "I don't think you could _handle _it."

            "You might be surprised at what I can handle."

            "Could you handle another kiss?" 

            Serenity gritted her teeth. "I wouldn't _enjoy _it."

            "I don't need you to enjoy it," Daniel said, opening his eyes wide in mock innocence. 

            "Then what _do_ you need?" she bit back at him. 

            Daniel smirked at her and sauntered off the dock and down the street towards the inn. Serenity stayed on the dock until he was out of sight, the wind blowing her hair around her face, her skin wet with rain and tears.


	6. Six: Mind's Eye

~*~

Chapter Six

Mind's Eye  

~*~

            "I need a sign and a good woman," muttered Daniel gruffly into the wind. He didn't glance back, but he knew that Serenity would just be standing there, her graceful figure and her wind-tossed hair framed against red clouds. Daniel remembered all too well the time when woman's sweet tears flowed as rain for him- a time long past. It was not a time to dwell on the past when the present is facing you like a solid wall of water. 

            A memory flashed into his mind- a recent memory, of the night when he had been drunk…last night. He'd kissed Serenity; he saw her shocked face in his mind's eye. He almost laughed at himself. He didn't really regret kissing her; he'd been waiting to do it since he had gotten to this blasted town. 

            The thing even worse than his present situation was the luck that had gotten him into this fix. Of all the sailors on his ship, he had to be the one to be captured. Well, not the only one. His companion, Leon, had been shot on the plank. Daniel had survived. He had a life in him that Leon had lacked. In the legendary tradition of marooning a pirate, he had been given a pistol with a single shot in it and thrown over the railing. Well, actually, he had jumped. The one piece of good luck that had come upon him in that night at sea was the piece of driftwood that he had found to cling to, and then the small fishing boat, bearing only two people, that had passed him that morning. He had climbed on board and bashed their heads in with the butt of his pistol, saving his one shot for the one he had to take his vengeance on.

            Port Royale was the first town that he had come upon, and at first it seemed like the port for the Caribbean unit of the British Navy was only that. But then Daniel had spent a few days in the town and decided that his ship could wait.

            He had a much more personal mission to complete first.

~*~

            Serenity waited on the dock until it became apparent that the hurricane was finally, actually upon them. She then hurried home in the tearing winds to find her family, the servants, and all the guests of the inn crowded into their small but comfortable parlor, including Daniel, who was standing in the farthest corner, immersed in shadows, his face periodically lit by the fiery end of his cigar. Serenity sat so that she wasn't facing him in the opposite corner of the room, next to a young mother and her sweet little boy. He was cowering in his mother's skirts, hiding his face from the boarded windows, which where being beaten with rain and the branches of the dogwood driven by the deadly wind. Serenity guessed that the few remaining scarlet flowers from her beloved tree had been stripped away, and were probably now floating down the road in a stream of water to the sea. She sat thinking about her blossoms floating across the ocean to some faraway place, like Egypt or entirely around the world to India. It seemed terribly romantic to Serenity; the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her was when she had once bid a lover goodbye on the beach at sunset, and he had walked down the beach until he was out of sight. She had cried for hours into her pillow that night because-

            Daniel was watching her. She could see the candlelight flickering in his eyes. Quickly she looked away, shifting uncomfortably on the soft couch. The air had grown stale fast, with so many people seeking comfort in togetherness in such a small room. Serenity stood and walked through the hallway into the kitchen, where a sliver of un-boarded window cast an eerie light into the room. She pressed her nose up against the glass and looked out onto the ghost world that was Port Royale.

            The stars were blurred by the strange light brought by the hurricane, blurred together into the dark sky, still tinted a violent red. She closed her eyes against the otherworldly light for a moment to catch her breath. A slow, erotic tune played on panpipes came from the parlor. One of the guests had gotten out his instrument in a misled attempt to calm everyone down.

            The ghostly melody wound its way around Serenity as she looked out the window, her fingernails digging into the pane. She sensed someone behind her, immediately suspecting that it was Daniel- who else would it be? Serenity whirled around, her eyes expecting to find Daniel's imposing frame towering over her. But instead, it was only the little boy- Kieran was his name. Serenity pasted a comforting smile on her face and knelt down to him. He was clutching a ratted teddy bear to his chest.

            "Hello, Kieran,'' she whispered. 

            The boy stared at her for a moment. "Look," he said.

            Without warning, there was a crashing sound behind her- the branches the other dogwood had cracked through the two inches of exposed window, showering glass all over Serenity and Kieran, who was screaming bloody murder. Not stopping to brush her dress off, she whirled back to face the boy. Even in the dim light she could see that he was covered in blood as the winds ripped through their kitchen. The panpipes faltered and stopped as the draft and the scream reached the parlor. Daniel was first to appear in the doorway, Kieran's mother second.

            "Kieran!" she said.

            "He got hit by the glass," said Serenity over his screams of terror. 

"Is anyone here a doctor?" Kieran's mother asked, her voice cracking as she hurried over to her son, her fingers dancing just over his skin. The guests looked around, expecting a doctor to materialize in their parlor.

"We have to get him to a doctor," Serenity said.

            "Not in this weather," someone protested. 

Serenity looked around the other people in the inn. "This boy _needs _a doctor." She saw on their faces that they weren't going to help her. She paused to look at each face in turn to make sure she hadn't missed something, and then her resolve hardened. She scooped the boy up in her arms. "Then _I'll _bring him to the doctor," she said. The boy was whimpering terribly as she hurried out of the kitchen and into the foyer. Daniel blocked her path.

            "You're not strong enough to brave the storm alone," he said.

            "This boy needs help, Daniel! Get out of my way, or help me," Serenity said, the boy crying into her ears, the most awful sound she had ever heard. The mother was crying too, burying her face in someone's shoulder. Not waiting for an answer, Serenity opened the door to face a river of water in the street. It came to just above her ankle, and as she hurried into the street the hems of her skirts floated on the surface.

            "Serenity!" she heard her mother calling her name, but the boy's terrified screams and the name being shouted from the door were drowned out by the terrific wind.

            _Doctor Hinton's house. Kieran. Kieran needs help. Kieran needs the doctor. _

She was only able to make out the outlines of the houses, but she knew that Doctor Hinton's house was the third one down from the blacksmith's workshop, almost exactly across from the governor's house. She waded through the streets, counting houses, facing the wind. Only five more houses. Only three. Her skirts were soaking wet about halfway up, and rain trickled over the bare skin on her collarbone, freezing cold rain. Serenity tried not to think of how stupid she was being as she pushed farther into the storm.

            They were in front of the blacksmith's shop now. The wind seemed to have picked up even more since she had first come out here, and strips of wood had started to come free from houses and branches were beginning to be ripped off trees. _Oh, it was a mistake to come out here, Serenity! Don't you think before you do anything?!_ Only two more houses left before Doctor Hinton's house. Only tw-

            A searing pain ripped through Serenity's head as a small but thick piece of airborne wood flew past her. _Oh! _She thought, stumbling into the water. _No no no not now, I won't faint now, not with Kieran here depending on me… not Kieran… _She fell to her knees into the water, Kieran's cries still lost. She could barely see as the water flooded into her eyes and she didn't have a hand to wipe it away. Her head pounded horribly and she was sure she was bleeding from some kind of horrific wound, and she was growing faint…

A figure suddenly appeared through the rain, coming towards them at a run, a pair of strong arms scooped her and Kieran up together. Serenity was still fighting to stay conscious as she looked up at the face of the man that had picked them up. Her head fell back to rest on a soft shoulder, which wasn't soaking wet yet as if he had just come out of the dryness, and before she passed out her eyes opened once.

            It was enough to see Will Turner's sweet face looking down at her.

~*~*~*~

I hope this chapter doesn't condemn her to Sue-ism forever! Oh well, I like this chapter, screw you Sue. 

Review please!


	7. Seven: Heroine Blood

~*~

Chapter Seven

Heroine Blood

~*~ 

            Will had been sitting in his blacksmith's shop, listening to the winds, glaring at the boards that made the shop seem like a prison. He had already set out four pans to catch drips from leaks in the ceiling, and he was cold and bored. Working on the sword had been an option for a little while, but then Will realized that he didn't have the focus that moment to work on anything and do a good job, so he had stayed away from all the projects that he had committed himself to. He went into his room and threw himself on the hammock, folding his arms behind his head. The hammock rocked him gently for a minute before it stopped, and he didn't have the energy to rock himself. 

            Barnaby was asleep, as usual, in his favorite chair in the middle of the forge. Restless, Will picked himself up out of the hammock and began to wander aimlessly around the shop. However, something caught his eye.

            They had left the window in Barnaby's bedroom un-boarded- a stupid mistake, but an understandable on, as Barnaby never touched his bedroom. Will reached out to grab the knob and shut the door when his gaze moved to the window and he saw something unusual. Someone was struggling to make their way down the street, a heavy load in their arms. Through the rain, Will could see that it was a woman because of the voluminous skirts that they wore, and he could see that the woman was having trouble. He hurried through the shop and out the door, grateful for something to do.

            He waded through the water until he reached the woman, who had fallen to her knees. She was carrying a boy in her arms. Will snaked his arms around the woman's shoulders and under her knees, and as she was still holding the boy, he picked them up together. 

            He paused for a moment to look at the woman's face, which was leaning on his shoulder. Serenity looked up at him for a moment, and then her body went limp. Will hurried back into the shop and slammed the door behind him with his foot. 

            As soon as the door was shut he could hear that the boy was crying, his face covered in bloody scratches and glass. Will could guess what had happened but he didn't have time. They had probably been headed towards the doctor when they stopped in front of the shop. As he drew his hand away from the back of Serenity's hand, he saw that it was covered in blood.

            "Barnaby!" Will shouted, the franticness in his voice waking his teacher at once.

            "Wha?" asked Barnaby, frightened.

            "I have to get these two to the doctor, help me." 

            Barnaby waddled over and was handed the little boy, who had stopped crying but was still making horrible, heartbreaking noises in his throat. Will picked up Serenity, handling her with a care that even Barnaby could see in his drunken stupor. "Follow me," he said, heading once more out into the hurricane. Will kept his eyes open for flying objects, knowing that a storm of this class could rip shingles clean off of roofs and branches off of trees. A plank spun through the air towards him, and he ducked wildly to avoid getting hit in the head with it. Serenity's hand instinctively grasped a handful of material from his shirt, searching for protection even in her unconscious state. He held her closer to him as he finally scrambled onto the porch of the doctor's house and pounded on the door with his foot, Barnaby close behind.

            A moment later the door opened, revealing a frazzled looking old woman and a busy home behind her. It seemed that they weren't the only ones to seek assistance at the Hinton home. Various other wounded were sitting around the fire, some waiting to be treated, others wrapped in bandages. The doctor and his assistant were hurrying around, trying to treat wounds as fast as they could.

            "Take a seat, Will," said Mrs. Hinton, who had treated many of Will's minor injuries before. "What have we here?" she asked, looking from the boy to Serenity. 

            "The boy got hit with glass in the face," said Will, seeing the sparkle of the jagged glass pieces. "Maybe it was a window, I don't know, but Serenity's bleeding too." He hoisted her head up so that Mrs. Hinton could see the wound. "Not glass. Something bigger." Mrs. Hinton sighed.

            "That glass will have to be removed, and the girl might need stitches," she said, her voice tired. "I'll tell the doctor, but he still has many patients waiting." Serenity stirred in Will's arms as she walked away, and Will held her closer to him. _She must be freezing in that wet dress_, thought Will, glancing at the boy. _Him too, they're soaked through. _He curled his arms tighter around her shivering body, trying to lend her some of his warmth through two layers of soaked clothing. Her head leaned against his chest and he absentmindedly stroked her hair as they waited for the doctor to come. 

            It was many hours later that the doctor became free for them. One other had fought his way to the doctor's house through the storm, and once this first wave passed more would come during the silence that followed. 

            The doctor came over to them, seeing them both unconscious. "Come with me," he said shortly, leading them into a back room. "Lay them there," he pointed to a bloody cot. Will hesitantly laid Serenity down on the dirty sheets and then stepped back to let the doctor look at their wounds. "Glass," he said, looking at the boy's face first. He took some tweezers out of his pocket and began the painstaking removal of the many shards that had pierced the little boy's skin. 

            As the doctor was doing this, Serenity stirred again and opened her eyes slightly. "Kieran," she said- the little boy's name. Will crouched down beside her, so that they were at eye level. Serenity moved her hand to touch Will's hair. "Will."

            "I'm here, Serenity," he whispered.

            "Kieran," she said.

            "He's here too, right next to you. But don't turn, the doctor is treating him."

            "I," Serenity said, her voice hoarse, "I shouldn't have come here," she whispered.

            "No, no," Will said, taking her hand, "no, you did the right thing, Serenity."

            "I was stupid," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

            "No, shh," Will said. Serenity closed her eyes over her water-filled eyes; her lips parted and shook as if she were preparing her body for a cry. Will clasped both his hands around her calloused ones, and he was surprised, expecting the soft hands of the other colonial ladies. But Serenity was a worker, and her hands were almost as rough as his own. He clasped both his hands around her small one, looking at her face. Her eyes were still closed, but she had a more serene expression on her face. She was asleep. 

            The doctor was treating Kieran with some kind of cleaner, and he then covered the boy's face with bandages. Mrs. Hinton then came and dressed the boy as Doctor Hinton moved around the cot to see Serenity. He looked at the back of her head and shook his own.

            "She's going to need stitches, boy," he said to Will. "Are you her husband?"

            Will looked up at him for a second, and then shook his head. "No," he said quietly, still holding her hand.

            "Well, keep holding her hand. I hope she stays asleep…"

            The doctor drew out a needle and some medical thread and cleaned off the wound. Then he began to sew it shut. Will could plainly see that Serenity was awake by the way she squeezed her eyes shut in pain. Will squeezed her hand. "Does she have any other wounds?" the doctor said, "besides these glass ones in the back of her neck?"

            "I don't know," said Will. The doctor finished and ran his hands over Serenity's body, checking for broken bones. He then did the same to Kieran. 

            "They're going to be okay," he said, "the girl will need some dry clothes, though." His wife appeared with some clothes in her hand and began to dress Serenity as she had done Kieran. Will turned away, not wanting Serenity to think that he had seen her without her clothes on. He knew that that would kill her.

            "Alright, boy," said the doctor, "go back during the eye of the hurricane. Go quickly. Leave when the winds die down completely and the rain stops, but you must hurry. Wait in the parlor until it's over."

            Will then carried Serenity out and rested her in one of the vacant armchairs, and then he went back and put the boy on the chair next to her. Serenity curled up in a kind of fetal position, her head resting on the armrest, as Will went back and sat on the floor next to his sleeping companion. He stayed awake, however, watching Serenity, making sure that she didn't wake. A bandage was wrapped around her head, and her usually tame hair was curling wildly around her face, which was smooth and innocent- asleep once again. The large nightgown that Mrs. Hinton had lent her was too big for her, and it draped around her body like curtains. Her eyes flickered open as Will watched, darting to Kieran first, and then to himself.

            He smiled at her and stood up, walking around to her chair. She smiled back. "Will," she said, looking at the boy, "Is he going to be okay?"

            "Yes," said Will, "and so are you." 

            Serenity sighed, and her eyes clouded over. "His mother, Kieran's mother, she's still back home…she doesn't know that he's okay."

            "We're going to go back when this calms down, but we're going to have to hurry." Will looked at Barnaby. "We're going to have to carry you again so that we can bring you back before the storm starts again."

            "Alright," she whispered. The rain tapped wildly, the sounds of the wind and the conversation from the others in the room filled their silence. "Thank you for bringing us here, Will," she said quietly. 

            Will bit his lip, her words and his fatigue both bringing tears to his eyes. "You're welcome," he said, "I'm just glad that I saw you before you both drowned."

            Serenity smiled and drew a line down his cheek with the tips of her fingers. "I'm glad too," she said.

~*~

            A few hours later, when the storm was starting to slow down, all of the people in the doctor's home save for the doctor and the doctor's wife were asleep. Will was curled up in Serenity's armchair, Serenity on his lap; Kieran was sprawled across his own chair, which Barnaby was leaning on. Various other patients in borrowed clothes were arranged haphazardly around the room.

            Outside, the streets were entirely covered in water. Leaves had been torn off branches, branches had been torn of trees, and the trees had been uprooted from the ground if they weren't big enough. Shingles and boards floated on the surface of the water down the road as the wind died down to a strong breeze.

            The absence of noise seemed to wake most of the people in the Hinton home. Will awoke and picked up Serenity, and then nudged Barnaby with his foot. "Come on, we have to bring them home." Barnaby grunted and picked up the boy with a surprising gentleness, they bid the doctor thanks and goodbye, and then they waded back out into the street. Clouds gathered around the horizon, great billowing black clouds illuminated by a bright shining sun. The Inn's sign creaked in the breeze as they waded towards it.

            Serenity felt silly, being carried when she could just as easily walk. But Will insisted, and Serenity was too tired to argue. Barnaby followed him up to the door of the Inn and knocked on the door, which flew open to reveal a lot of people crowded around, waiting. A woman, obviously the boy's mother, ran out the door and picked Kieran up. "Thank you, thank you!" she sobbed, looking at her bandaged boy. "I was so worried…"

            "Serenity," said Mrs. Williams, concerned, "What happened to your head?"

            "It's nothing," she answered as Will set her down on her feet. 

            "I'm glad you're safe," said her mother. "Thank you so much, Will."

            "You're welcome," he said, his arm still around Serenity. She hugged him warmly, their cheeks brushing against each other as they slowly pulled apart. Serenity profusely thanked him and then said goodbye, wishing him safety when the storm returned. She then went inside as Barnaby and Will headed back out into the water.


	8. Eight: Anything Because Everything

~*~

Chapter Eight

Anything Because Everything

~*~

            Barnaby and Will waded back to the shop to find the floor covered in an inch of water. The pans had overflowed and the rain had widened the gaps in the ceiling. They worked quickly to gum the cracks before the rain began again.

            "You and the girl, boy," said Barnaby gruffly. 

            "What about Serenity?" asked Will, smoothing over one of the reparations with the palm of his hand.

            "Something there?"

            "You mean something romantic?" Will jumped off the chair he had been standing on, water seeping into his boots. He picked up the chair and turned it around to start working on another section of the ceiling. Barnaby grunted 'yes'. "Why would you ask that?"

            "Ya seem so gentle round her," Barnaby said, pounding his fist on the ceiling to work the gum into the crack. "She changes ya, boy."

            "I've known her forever," said Will, "of course I'm going to care about her."

            "Not just that, Willie Turner, and ya know it better that I do." 

            Will sighed and didn't answer, knowing that the old man wouldn't let go of an idea once he had one, until he wiped his mind clear with drink. Unfortunately he was right, and his teacher took his silence as a yes.

~*~

            Serenity banged the board in with the butt end of her hammer, sealing up the troublesome window for good. She drove some nails into the sides of her house to keep it there, running her hands into the cracks between the two boards to make sure that they were secure. A sigh escaped her lips as she drove another nail in for good measure.

            "Something the matter, Miss Serenity?" said Daniel in his standard mocking serious tone. 

            "No," she replied shortly. A moment later she felt his fingertips brush across the bandage that was still wrapped beneath her hair. "Please don't touch me, Daniel," she said, her words accented by the staccato manner that she had adapted in speaking to him. Daniel tossed a searing smile in return to the back of her head and then walked away. Serenity's hand was shaking as she gave the board one last satisfying whack and then went to check the rest of the windows.  

~*~

            The rain and winds began again as Elizabeth sat at the candle-lighted desk in her room. _Elizabeth Turner_, she wrote in graceful script across the piece of paper she had laid on her desk. A dozen of the same signature had already been written and scratched out on the paper since the winds had picked up for the first time and the servants had begun panicking. They had been walking around nervously, wringing their hands and smoothing their aprons, dusting spotless pictures until they could see the reflection of every one of their pores in the glass.

            Still displeased with the look of the two words on the paper, Elizabeth scratched them out again and this time looped the capital E more, and curved the top bar of the T in a graceful arch. She added a swirling design under the two words and set the paper in front of her again for scrutiny. A small smile crossed her face as she carefully ripped it out and placed it on her bedside table. Her fingertips lingered on it for a moment before she sat down again.

            So Serenity Williams was the girl that Will turned had been seeing at his workshop. Elizabeth agitatedly tried to figure out what that poor girl had to offer him. She was not rich, and she wasn't beautiful. She had the waist that she had grown up with, her figure went unrestrained by a corset, her complexion was slightly off, her lips weren't smooth, her eyes were set too close together, her chin was slightly too strong._ I'm prettier than her- right? _Thought Elizabeth desperately. _I have to be prettier than her! I need Will… but does Will need me? He has to…_

_            He just has to._

~*~

            Serenity curled up in her bedroom, which was entirely dark, as her candle had blown out accidentally. She didn't wish to think of how she was going to get down the stairs without having to take another trip to the doctor's home, and she didn't want to think about Daniel. She didn't want to think of anything because everything was wrong.  

            The winds once again howled against her window, and the rain beat against the inn in a fury. The skies opened up their wrath upon Port Royale, as if trying to clean the town of some evil. The scourge continued into the next day and didn't begin to slow down until lunch. By dinner the skies were clear and pink, as if asking for apology from the town for the punishment it had to endure. 

            The first thought on Will Turner's mind was escaping from the shop. It was dank and smelly with two men crammed in there for twenty-four hours without a break. He took the horse and rode it through the river that remained in the streets towards the beach, which was covered in little ponds and puddles of rain and salt. The sand sparkled like a pirate's treasure chest as the sun hit it from the west. He viewed the surf from the back of the horse, glancing down at the ground, searching for any stone that caught his eye. There were a few pretty ones, but none of the beauty of the conch that he had found after the first storm.

            Footsteps sounded softly on the beach behind him, and he twisted himself in the saddle to see who was approaching. To his surprise, it was Elizabeth, who had left her guard behind at the top of the sloping beach. "Miss Swann!" he said, surprised, as he slid off his horse and bowed to her. Elizabeth smiled.

            "Hello, Mr. Turner," she said, smiling and tilting her head down slightly in greeting.

            "You can call me Will," he said, his mind racing to his pocket, into which he had slipped the conch on a leather thong. _Now, _he thought, _now would be the perfect time to give it to her. _"I"-

            "I can only stay for a moment," Elizabeth said, squinting out at the ocean. Waves capped and rolled in on a watery surface that was smoother than glass.

            "Oh," Will said, his good mood deflating. His hand went nowhere near his pocket. 

            "Look at this shell!" Elizabeth said, scooping up her skirts in one hand and bending down to pick something up off of the ground. She then held up to the light possibly one of the most ugly shells that Will had ever seen, but he was willing to allow Elizabeth her own opinion. He smiled gently at her.

            "Yes, beautiful," he said, tilting his head closer to hers so that he could get a better view of the brown spotted thing that she held in the palm of her smooth, white hand. She moved her head away from his, as if she was uncomfortable, but her words contradicted her action.

            "I want you to have it," she said softly, her voice growing more intimate.

            "Really?" asked Will, genuinely surprised.

            "Yes, Mr. Turner," she said, smiling, showing even, white teeth. "Of course. It reminds me of you."

            "Thank you…Miss Swann," he said awkwardly as she pressed the shell into his hand. "I have something"-

            "I must go," said Elizabeth. "Goodbye, Mr. Turner." She walked up the beach to her guard, her hair shining gold in the sun, as Will reached into his pocket to give her the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.


	9. Nine: Never Let You Tell

Haha! Little quote from Keira Knightley in this one, its one that all of you Orlando-obsessed *like myself* girls should know! See if you recognize it!

~*~

Chapter Nine

Never Let You Tell 

~*~ 

            A week later, the troublesome cow was acting up again. Serenity sat by her side, trying in vain to get her to stand still. "Come, please, stand still!" Serenity pleaded with the stubborn animal. "Don't make me have to trouble Anise again," she said. The crunching of footsteps on the ground came from outside the barn, and a pair of boots and breeches came into sight. As Serenity's sight was obstructed by the massive bulk in front of her, she assumed that it was Daniel come to bother her, and she remained silent. The feet came closer to the cow, and a face appeared over it. 

            "Hello, Serenity," said the face.

            "Hello, Will," said Serenity.

            "I hear your having problems with your cow," said Will, running his hand along the animals spine as he crossed behind it to sit next to Serenity.

            "Yes, the cow," she said, drawing her hands away from the cow in defeat. 

            "Maybe I can help," said Will, "animals have always liked me." 

            "Humans are animals," Serenity smiled playfully. 

            "Yes, especially women," replied Will with a laugh.

            "Oh, come on Will, women like you," said Serenity, knowing that it was all too true.

            "I suppose so," Will had miraculously calmed the cow down and was now milking her successfully, "But they're so confusing!"

            "Maybe I can clear some things up for you, then," Serenity said, running her hand along the velvety soft black and white coat of their cow. 

            "Why is it that they- women, that is- always interrupt you when you're in the middle of a sentence?" said Will. 

            "_I _don't interrupt you."

            "Yes, but most do."

            "Well, I guess that's just them- the impatient class of women," said Serenity, "the ones who are pushy and always think only about themselves."

            "Oh," said Will softly. "Can I ask you something else?"  
  


            "Ask anything."

            "Why is it that women always act like they want you and then they never let you tell them how you feel?" His eyes moved from the cow to the floor and then a moment later to Serenity, who had turned towards him. Her lips parted as she pondered his unusual question. _Why is it that women always act like they want you and then they never let you tell them how you feel? _

"I suppose…" Serenity began, "I suppose it's because they just can't face the truth in some way." A strange moment of silence followed this, which Serenity tried to remedy with an awkward, "I don't know." Will sighed and turned back towards the cow.

            "Are you alright, Will?" asked Serenity with concern, placing her hand on his arm. "Everything's okay, right?"

            "Yes," said Will, "there are just some things…there's just some things that I don't understand sometimes."  Serenity could feel his strong muscles under the thin material of his shirt, and being so close to him filled her with a kaleidoscope of feelings that _she_ didn't understand. 

            "There are some things that I don't understand, either," she said softly, her eyes filling with tears for some strange reason. Will heard the sadness in her voice and turned back towards her. Seeing that she was upset, he put both his arms around her, and she buried her nose in his shoulders and cried for a long time for reasons that she didn't know. His shirt smelled wonderful, like a mixture of sawdust and horses, a smell that made Serenity feel like she was home. She rested her hand on Will's shoulder and awkwardly lifted her head back up.

            "I'm sorry," she laughed, tears still spilling from her eyes.

            "It's okay," said Will, smiling. He reached out to gently wipe the tears from her eyes. 

            "Thank you, Will," she said, still laughing and sobbing at the same time. She felt ridiculous, knowing that she would think herself a fool later for showing such emotion in front of him. Will laughed also and shook his head, and then wrapped his arms back around her and rocked her back and forth, with motions so smooth that they were imperceptible.

            "I don't even know why I'm crying," she said.

            "That's okay," he whispered into her hair. "We've all been through a lot lately." 

            "I suppose so," she said, pulling back away and cupping his cheek in her hand. "Thank you, Will," she said again. He smiled and took her hand and brushed his lips across it, and then he stood up from the bale of hay that they had been sitting on and put his hat back on his head.

            "Goodbye, Serenity," he said, waving at her as he left the barn. Serenity smiled back at the wooden doors and reached out to finish milking the cow, which remained calm for the rest of the day.

~*~

            "Is that Will Turner that I see again?" said Serenity's mother, peeking out of the curtains and looking at him walking back down the street.

            "Yes, Mother."

            "Did he drop by again?"

            "Yes, Mother."

            "Why does he do that? He just comes by to suit his whim?"

            "I don't know why he comes by Mother, maybe it's because I'm his friend. That might have something to do with it."

            "Ooh, don't you get cheeky with me, Serenity," said her mother, smiling despite her words. "That Turner is a nice boy," she added as an afterthought. 

            "Nicest that I know, Mother," answered Serenity, shooting a look at Daniel as he wandered aimlessly into the parlor. He shot a nasty smile back at her in turn and then plopped himself down on the couch and propped his feet on the table. Her mother swatted at his feet with a duster.

            "No feet on the table, Mister Daniel," said her mother, dusting off the spot where his feet had been and then leaving the room to dust somewhere else.

            "So he's the nicest man you know?" asked Daniel mockingly.

            "Yes, the nicest man I know," Serenity verified.

            "_I'm _nice."

            "No you're not!" Serenity protested, still not able to wipe the idiotic smile of her face.

            "You're smiling like an idiot," said Daniel.

            "I know," Serenity said happily.

            "Did he kiss you?" asked Daniel, leaning forward as if her answer was keeping him on the edge of his seat.

            "I am a lady, Daniel," said Serenity, her smile faltering for a moment, "and I don't kiss and tell."

            "Pity," said Daniel sarcastically. "I bet I could give you a better kiss than that pirate ever could."

            "He's not a pirate," said Serenity. Daniel smirked, but remained silent, and Serenity left the room before he could see the damage that he had done to her heart with those words.


	10. Ten: The Bloody Vengeance

A/N: I have a little brother, and he's scared of my Legolas poster! (Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's the biggest poster in my room…)  J 

**__**

**_THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED!!! _**: 

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~*~

Chapter Ten

The _Bloody Vengeance _

~*~

            A few weeks went by that absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happened. Daniel bothered Serenity as much as he usually did, and despite her sneaky efforts to reveal more about his shady past, she found nothing that she didn't already know: Daniel was a scoundrel, and one of the worst of the lot.

            Port Royale began a slow but steady recovery from the hurricane that had ripped the town's buildings and quite a number of ships into shreds. In her spare time Serenity went down to the town hall to help sew some sails for the ships that had lost their own, but most of the time she was working at the Swann house. Fortunately she only saw Elizabeth once in the weeks after the storm, and they did not have an uncomfortable encounter. Elizabeth seemed not to want to talk to Serenity, and Serenity was grateful that she wouldn't have to make conversation to that rich, aloof girl. 

            Will came by the Inn regularly, sometimes having an excuse, and sometimes not. Often he brought the beautiful shell sword that he had been working on to show Serenity his progress, as he knew how she admired his work. Once when he was there in the barn with her, the cow quiet, he was waving it around and the blade accidentally cut clean through one of the beams that supported the loft of the barn. He then hastily said that he would repair it, an offer that Serenity's father did not refuse.

            Therefore, Serenity saw Will on a regular basis, as the cow had to be milked on a regular basis. He could often be found in the barn, the troublesome sword at his side, his shirtsleeves pushed up and his hair pulled back, working on the pole that the blade had severed. However, this display did not bring just misfortune, it displayed the craftsmanship of Will's swords, and the price and demand for his pieces went up admirably. 

            One day Serenity stood a few paces behind Will as he drove a nail into the beam. "I cannot believe that you did that," she said, laughing and shaking her head.

            "Will you stop saying that, Serenity?" said Will, smiling and blushing slightly. 

            "Oh, you're cheeks are red, how sweet," she teased.

            "I'm so sorry about this," Will said.

            "That must be the twentieth time that you apologized to me this week, not counting all the times that you apologized to my father," said Serenity. "Besides, you're fixing it," she said, gesturing at his work. "We don't hold grudges against men that don't deserve them." Serenity absentmindedly climbed atop one of the bales of hay and laid down upon its surface, leaning her head over the edge of it so that she could watch Will upside-down. 

            Will sighed. "I just can't believe I did that," he said, looking sidelong at her as if he knew that he was in for a verbal punishment.

            "Leave it alone, Will, or I'll give you something to apologize for," Serenity threatened. Will looked at her strangely.

            "What does that _mean?" _he asked, shaking his head.

            Serenity laughed. "I don't know," she said. Will smiled and straightened up from where he had been crouching at sword-level to repair the break he had rendered in the pole. He helped Serenity off the hay bale and then gathered his tools together.

            "How is your work coming?" he asked as he placed all his tools in the saddlebag of his horse.

            "It's coming fine, the girls are sweet, and so are their tutors," she said, wrinkling her nose, "except for their etiquette tutor. She acts like she's laced her corset too tightly." 

            Will laughed. "Those contraptions are ridiculous," he agreed. Serenity nodded.

            "I couldn't imagine how someone would consent to wearing one out of their own free will," she said. "They squeeze the life out of you!"

            "Ah," said Will, "But it's _in style." _

"I'm going to wait for something slightly more comfortable to come into style," said Serenity, smiling at Will as he swung up onto his horse. "Don't stop coming by now that you're done fixing my barn," she added.

            "I won't," said Will, grinning. "Goodbye, Serenity."

            "Goodbye, Will," she said as he rode down the street towards the blacksmith's workshop.

~*~

            He had to go far and wide to find a decent tavern, but by some grace there was a perfectly seedy one waiting down the road from Port Royale, in a lovely but small smuggling town. He had put on a hat and his customary long-sleeved jacket that he never went anywhere without, in case anyone would recognize him, and entered to find that there was not one person in the bar who was sober enough to recognize him even if they had seen him every day since they became smugglers. Slightly comforted by the level of drunkenness in the tavern, he threw off his hat but did not take off his jacket. He never did. 

            A well endowed- in the chest area that is- woman served him an icy beer and promptly planted a seductive kiss on his lips, whispering in his ear to meet her later. He nodded and smiled and then went to join a particularly rowdy group of sailors that were carousing in the corner.

            "I pr'pose a toost," said one, raising his glass and slopping half its contents over the edge in the process. "Tah beer," he said, slapping the mug with his comrades and then pouring the rest into his mouth. 

            One of the others eyed the mysterious newcomer. "Aye," he said, "who're you?" 

            "I was wondering if any one of you had any information on a ship," said the man.

            "A'course, whadda we look like, landlubbrrrs?" said another. "Watsa name of yur boat?"

            "The _Bloody Vengeance,_" he answered, savoring the name of his ship on his tongue. It fit so perfectly to his present situation.

            "Argh," said one of the drunks, "tha ship raided meh ship off Torrrtooga," said the man, the angry fire in his eyes contradicted by the ridiculous slurring of his words.

            "Tortuga," said the man. "Perfect." If he knew anything about the way his ship operated, they would spend a few days in Tortuga and continue up the islands until they reached Port Royale. 

He then left the sailors to enjoy the company at the bar, and then he returned to Port Royale the next morning to find everything just as he had left it. 


	11. Eleven: Sailors and Civilians

Have I been teasing you all with the kissing thing? I'm sorry. But that doesn't mean that there's kissing in this chapter either. Haha. You will just have to wait and see! 

~*~

Chapter Eleven

Sailors and Civilians 

~*~ 

            One night, Serenity's mother drew her into the empty parlor after dinner, an uncharacteristically serious look on her face.

            "Serenity, you're a woman now," she began. Serenity bit her lip, not liking where this conversation was going. "It is high time for you to find a suitor, and to be eventually wed."

            Serenity sighed.

            "You know that we shall let you marry whomever you wish, with your father's consent, of course, as long as he is a decent and hardworking man who is capable of supporting a family," she continued. "You know that we are not royalty or nobility, and there are no requirements to who you may eventually choose. We just want the best for you, Serenity," she said. "You know that's all we've ever wanted."

            "I know," said Serenity. 

            "I don't want you to end up"-

            "An old maid, I know." Her mother sighed and folded her hands in her lap. 

            "I don't want to rush you, either. But you're nineteen and still have no idea of what- or who- you're future holds."

            "You're worried that I might never find someone?" asked Serenity, leaning towards her mother.

            "No," she answered, not quite honestly. Serenity knew that her parents had married early, and had probably accepted the age of seventeen as the standard age for marriage, and she told her mother that in fewer words.

            "I just want to marry when I'm ready, mother," she said, "I'll know it when I'm ready."

            Her mother sighed, and patted her hand. "I know, dear," she said. "Is there anyone in your life?" she said, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. Serenity smiled back.

            "You mean, is that someone Will Turner?" Serenity said playfully, knowing all too well that that was who her mother was getting at. 

            "Anyone."

            Serenity thought for a moment. "No," she said, shaking her head. "There is nothing between myself and Mr. Turner. Nothing serious, anyway," she added as an afterthought.

            "No one besides Mr. Turner?" her mother pressed.

            "No, Mother," she said, rising to her feet. "Besides, if I never find anyone, I can always join a convent," she said flippantly, leaving her mother sitting in shock in the parlor.

~*~

            Serenity wandered down to the beach, not wanting to risk another confrontation with her mother over wedding plans- or lack of them. She meandered among the sailors for a while, the stark white of the sails set against the dazzling sunset. The rush of their conversations filled the air around her as she walked among the boats, not unnoticed, but noticed by men that did not have the time to express their notice. She smiled at a kind-looking one that was ambling up the rigging with the ease and grace of a monkey, and he waved back, swinging on the ropes with his motion. 

            The smiling sailor kept a happy feeling in her heart as she continued down the dock and finally down to the beach. The sun's last rays lit the ocean in one last display of majesty. Serenity sighed and stood once more with her toes in the surf, holding her petticoats above the salty foam. Briefly she wondered about Daniel's mysterious absence, but then she decided that she didn't care and continued dipping her toes into the miniature swells. Far out to sea a wave peaked and crashed with a roar onto the surface of the ocean, using up its momentum as it traveled across the water's surface and finally rippling in pleasant coolness over the arches of Serenity's feet.

            Serenity sighed and returned to the Inn only to be sent back out a minute later to get some flour and salt from the local general store. Not feeling like walking, she slipped bareback onto one of the horses and clung to its mane as it kicked up a cloud of dust. This particular general store was located near the dock for maximum convenience to both sailors and civilians. It was busy at this hour, when dinner was being prepared, and Serenity found herself in the middle of a crazy mix of culture. Tan, rugged sailors with calloused hands grouped with their crewmates in corners, smoking cigars and surveying the bonnet-wearing maids with sharp but playful eyes. They flirted with their eyes until they left, and all was over as quickly as it had begun.

            Serenity pushed her way as politely as she could over to the clerk, who handed her two heavy sacks of flour and salt. She took one in each hand and managed to carry them over to her horse without falling over. The sacks thudded onto the ground as they slipped from her hands once she reached the horse and she flexed her fingers before attempting to lift them again.  

            "Need some help with that?" said a voice from behind her right shoulder. It was an Irish voice, warm and friendly. The owner of the voice was half a head taller than Serenity was, a sailor, clothed in a thin white shirt and the breeches that sailors normally wore. His skin was dark but spots of sunburn showed through, an unmistakable Irish trait. His hair was a deep auburn with red sun streaks in it, and eyes that were the same shade of brown but without the red. 

            "It's alright, I'm fine," Serenity said, hoisting the flour onto her horse's back. 

            "I'm Connor," he said as she took his hand.

            "I'm Serenity," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

            "The pleasure's all mine," he said matter-of-factly. "Now, where are we taking these?"

            "You really don't have to"- Connor broke off her sentence with a 'I'm going to help you with this no matter how much you protest because I am a gentleman' look and lifted the salt onto the back of his horse. He waited for her to mount before he repeated his question. 

            "We're taking them to my father's inn," she said, "so you can just follow me." She started down the road towards the Inn, Connor following her as she had said. They talked a little as they rode down the dusty street and Serenity found that Connor was a good man, a sailor as she had first suspected, and a very amiable companion to talk to. He had a warm, pleasant laugh and a humor that matched her own, and as they reached their destination Serenity told him that she wished that he would stay in Port Royale for a decent amount of time.

            "I'll stay as my ship stays," was his answer as he hoisted the salt over his shoulder and onto the kitchen floor. "That's the only way a sailor can survive."

            "I don't know if I would like being a sailor," said Serenity thoughtfully as she began the robotic motions of helping Cook prepare dinner, as her mother was elsewhere. Connor took out a knife and began slicing vegetables.

            "Most of the time you don't have a choice," he said, looking intently at the blade of his knife as it sliced through the red layers of a tomato. "It's either sail across the ocean or spend the rest of your life frying the back of your neck in a potato field. To me the best choice seemed to be the ocean; the British captains pay better than the farmers at least."

            "Doesn't it get lonely? I think I would get lonely, out there in the middle of nowhere really," said Serenity.

            "The ocean is funny," Connor said, "either your chasing solitude while you're trying to sleep in the bowels with a bunch of smelly men or you're chasing companionship alone in the 'nest. And believe me," he continued, "It can get _very _smelly."

            Serenity laughed as she began setting out plates on the table. "You know you're welcome to stay for dinner if you like," she offered. 

            "I wouldn't want to burden you."

            "My family runs an inn, Connor. This is what we do."

            Connor laughed. "I did forget that I needed a place to sleep. I'm _not _sleeping in the ship again like we did in Tortuga," he said, shaking his head forcefully. 

            Serenity smiled and picked up a set of keys from the assortment of hooks on the kitchen wall. "You can have Room Three," she said. "We had a vacancy as of this morning."

            "It must be my lucky day," he answered good-naturedly as he picked up his thin overcoat and followed her up the staircase and through a door that was emblazoned with a metal _3. _

            "If you need to buy anything, the general store that I met you at has everything that you might possibly need," said Serenity as she placed a box of matches next to the candles of assorted height that were arranged on the desk. "Dinner is in about an hour."

            "Thank you so much for your hospitality, Serenity," said Connor kindly. "I will try to repay you"-

            "You won't have to pay me, Connor," Serenity corrected him, "You'd be paying for the room anyway." He grinned brightly as she closed the door behind her.

~*~

Review! Review!


	12. Twelve: Smithy and Blade

~*~

Chapter Twelve 

Smithy and Blade

~*~

            Serenity descended the staircase that evening after she had washed up for dinner to find Connor and Daniel talking in the parlor. 

            "…Where one was located?" Connor was saying as Serenity appeared in the doorway.

            "I see you two have met," she said, her eyes passing from Daniel to Connor and then back again. Daniel had assumed his usual arrogant pose leaning against the wall by the window, his fingers shoved into his pockets, his pipe dipping lazily from his mouth. Smoke curled around his face but failed to hide the smirk that crossed his face as Serenity entered.

            "Yes indeedy," he said mockingly. 

            "I was just inquiring about where the smithy was located," said Connor, picking up a sheathed sword from its resting place on one of the armchairs. He drew out the blade and tilted it away from Serenity towards the light. "The blade's chipped right here," he said, resting the calloused tip of his thumb against the pointy edges of the dent. Serenity craned her neck around to get a better look at the chip.

            "You've come to the right place, then," she said as he re-sheathed the sword and hung it on his belt. "Will Turner is no less than an expert on crafting swords, and I'm sure he could fix yours up quicker than you would expect."

            "Perfect," said Connor happily. "Where is it?"

            "It's just down the street, there," said Serenity, pointing out the window. "I'll go with you if you'd like, it'd make me very happy if you and Will were to become friends. You're very alike in some ways."

            "Really?" said Connor. A shadow passed across his eyes for a moment, but then disappeared like a ghost. "What did you say his last name was?"

            "Turner," Serenity repeated. 

            "Ah," said Connor, nodding and bouncing the sheath in his hand. "We should go down after dinner."

            "That's a good idea," said Serenity, "as dinner is right now." She gestured towards the dining room, where the clinking of china against china blended in with the soft mill of several conversations going on at once. Daniel followed Connor into the dining room and Serenity ate in the kitchen as usual. When she had finished she found Connor waiting patiently in the parlor for her, his jacket slung over his elbow and his hat tilted on his head. He grinned brightly as he saw her and she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm as they walked down the street to where Will's workshop was located. 

            There was no light coming from the windows of the workshop, but Serenity knew that Will often got so caught up in his work that he didn't notice the dimness and continued his crafting in pitch darkness. She eased open the wooden door and knocked the back of her hand against it a few times. "Will?" she called. A banging noise sounded from the back right corner of the workshop and Will appeared in the light cast from the doorway.

            "Serenity!" he said, kissing her hand in greeting as she pulled Connor forward and into the cluttered room.

            "Will, this is Connor," she said, "Connor, this is William Turner, finest _honest_ swordsman and crafter of swords that you'll find in the whole of the Caribbean," she continued jokingly. Will smiled brightly as his eyes passed from her face to the face of her companion. He stuck out his hand in greeting as Serenity slipped her own hand from Connor's arm.

            "A pleasure to meet you, sir," said Will. "What could I assist you with?" Connor brought out his sword as Serenity went about the workshop lighting the lanterns that were hung on the wall. The damaged blade glinted in the new light. 

            "It's dented in some places," he said, showing Will the sword in the same way he had shown Serenity. Will took the sword from him and held it up to the light, squinting at it as if he was a doctor trying to diagnose a sickness. 

            "Hmm," he hummed quietly to himself. He ran the blunt sides of the blade along his palms as if to feel the illness and he then set it on his table and looked at it some more. Serenity returned the little box of matches to his worktable as she finished lighting the room and leaned over him as he glared at the sword, resting her chin lightly on his shoulder. This rather welcome distraction was, however, not helping Will's thinking process as he struggled to decide whether he could fix the damages or whether the sword would need an entire new blade.

            "I can fix this, but it might take a while," he decided. 

            "Alright then," said Connor, stepping expectantly towards the door. "I'll just leave the sword with ye and we can settle a price when it's done."

            Will nodded. "Goodbye, Mr.…"

            "Mr. O'Malley," said Connor.

            "Goodbye, Mr. O'Malley."

 Serenity turned to follow Connor out the door but Will reached out and brushed a hand against her shoulder. She turned back towards him, her hair fanning out behind her and swinging back to place below her shoulders, the red accents in her hair highlighted by the candlelight. "Goodbye, Serenity," Will said quietly, several panicked thoughts scurrying through his head to be silenced by a single one:

            _Just kiss her, you scurvy cur. _

Serenity's eyes widened just a little as he leaned down towards her, his eyes closing slowly. The confused look on her face did not even register in his jumbled mind as his lips met hers, lingered there for a split second, and then pulled away. 

            "Goodbye, Will," she whispered, drawing her soft hand out of his- he hadn't even realized that he had taken her hand- and followed Mr. O'Malley out the door. She glanced back at him standing in the center of the room, in the halo of light cast from the lanterns that she had lit, and then she closed the door with a soft _click_ that echoed through the workshop and followed Will even into his dreams. 

~*~ 

            Connor was standing at the bottom of the steps outside the blacksmith's shop, one hand in his pocket. Serenity flew down the steps towards him and automatically slid her hand back into his arm as they began walking back towards the inn. She hadn't realized that she had only been in the shop for an extra ten seconds, an imperceptible amount of time, an amount of time that Connor had not even noticed. He went on and on about how he was happy that someone trustworthy was going to take care of his sword while Serenity walked in a state of shock beside him, and continued in that vein up the stairs and into her room, where she bid Connor goodnight and absentmindedly dressed herself in a nightgown and pulled a brush through her hair until she reached a snag. She didn't even bother to untangle her curls or brush the rest of her hair and simply curled into a fetal position on top of her blankets, her candle burned to the wick and the hangings drew securely around her. 

            _Why did he kiss me? What about Elizabeth? What am I going to do now? I'm never going to be able to face him again! We were alone without a chaperone and he kissed me! Why did he kiss me? I love him so much. Did Connor see? Oh my, what if Connor saw? I'm going to have to stay here on top of my blankets in the dark for the rest of my life! I wonder if Will expects me to marry him now? Oh dear I can't think anymore, I'm just going to have to go to sleep…_

Needless to say, Serenity did not sleep a wink that night.

~*~ 

Haha you can all stop bothering me for that kiss now…more will be explained in the next chapter so check back J 


	13. Thirteen: Enigma

Short (or, short_er_) little chapter provided by yours truly for your amusement and bemusement, if you will. Read on, my friends, and review! 

~*~

Chapter Thirteen 

Enigma

~*~

"I heard that you met Mr. Turner, Mr. O'Malley," said Serenity's mother pleasantly as she set the bread down on the table. Most of the others at the inn had already eaten breakfast, save for Connor, Daniel, and an old sailor who was sitting at the other end of the table. "He's a very nice boy."

            "He is," Connor agreed, tearing a piece off the end of the loaf. "I'm glad that there is someone here who can fix my sword." She nodded and set the butter and a blunt knife beside each other on the table and then returned to the kitchen. Serenity was standing by the kitchen window, the same window that had cracked during the hurricane, and she was staring out of the shattered glass with an absent look in her eyes. She had decided the night before not to tell her mother about what had happened the previous night, not because she enjoyed keeping secrets from her mother but only because she had decided that it would be easier for all of them if the secret stayed between herself and Will. She had also decided that Will had let his manly ego get the best of him and that he had kissed her only because he could not kiss Elizabeth, for she could think of no better reason. For Will, Elizabeth was the unattainable governor's daughter, and it was much easier to kiss an innkeeper's daughter and imagine that she was Elizabeth than kiss Elizabeth herself. 

               "You look ill, dear," said Mother. "Are you feeling alright?"

               "I'm fine," Serenity answered with a sigh. "I'm fine." 

               Mother sighed and placed the back of her hand against Serenity's forehead. "You don't have a fever," she said.

               "That's because I'm not sick," she replied honestly, a small and sad smile crossing her face at the same time. 

               "Are you sure everything is all right?" her mother insisted concernedly. Serenity nodded and turned back to the window, resting her hands on the pane. Her fingernails dug into the plaster as the train of melancholy thoughts continued to crawl across her thoughts. She wanted to walk down to the beach, but she was sure that Will would be there. He always was. 

               Indeed, at that very moment Will was standing next to his shoes, his bare toes digging into the sand, his fingers shoved deep into his pockets caressing the shell that he kept there. It was ironic that he was wondering about the same question that had been plaguing Serenity all night: _Why did I kiss her?  _Will resisted the urge to slap himself on the forehead as he glared at the rolling waves. The water washed the sand from over his toes and left frothing sea foam in its place. 

               Serenity had always been a treasure to him, and she always would be, but he never thought that he cared for her in that way. His feelings for Serenity were deeper than any other feelings in the world, save maybe his feelings for Elizabeth, but he had always held the two of them in different aspects. Will didn't want to admit that he might have kissed Serenity only because he couldn't kiss Elizabeth, but the thought lingered there in the back of his mind. He clutched the shell with a strength that dug the edges of it into the palm of his hand. He hated himself for complicating his relationship with Serenity; he had wanted it to stay the same forever. In the years since he had come to Port Royale in search of his father, three things had remained constant: the enigma of his father, his feelings for Elizabeth, and the steady, never-changing support that Serenity provided since the first time that they had met.

               "Oh, Serenity," he said, hiding his face in his hands, "what have I done?" 

~*~ 

               Serenity sat that night in the empty parlor, her face thrown into shadows. It was long past midnight, but she couldn't sleep and didn't want to. Her candle had burned down hours ago, and the final whiff of smoke had floated off the wick to disappear into the gloomy darkness of the silent house. 

               Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and they would have startled Serenity if she had been thinking. Instead, she was sitting in lonely stupor, and her head rose on it's own accord to greet her uninvited visitor. 

               It was Daniel, who was walking across the hallway towards the kitchen when he saw her. "Serenity?" he whispered, backtracking and coming back towards her. "What are you doing up?" 

               "I could ask you the same question," she replied, shifting in her seat. 

               "I couldn't sleep, so I came down to fix me some tea." His gaze wandered back to the kitchen doors. "Fancy a cup?" 

               Serenity thought for a moment, and then stood. "Tea sounds lovely." Daniel began to make the tea as Serenity stood unsurely next to him. For the first time since Daniel had came to Port Royale he was acting halfway decent, and although it was probably the fatigue getting to him it was quite nice. He hadn't uttered one scoundrel-ish word yet and Serenity welcomed the change, however temporary it was. Daniel reached up and grabbed the handles of two cups, which he carried with the pot of tea to the kitchen table. Serenity sat down across from him and lit the candles that were arranged in the center of the table as Daniel began to drink. 

               "Tell me, Daniel," Serenity said, tracing the rim of her cup with the tip of her index finger. "Why did you really come to Port Royale?" 

               "I heard there was good company," he replied automatically.

               "_Really,_" she insisted, lowering her voice. "If you wanted prostitutes you would have gone to Tortuga."

               "Who said I wanted prostitutes?" he replied patronizingly. "And you don't have to lower your voice around me, darling, there's no one around to hear."

               "No, but I am a lady, and when a lady speaks of such…such _scarlet_ women, she lowers her voice," said Serenity.

               "I see," Daniel said. Serenity was not pleased to observe that the scoundrel was back. She sighed and half emptied her glass in one gulp. "That's not very ladylike," he said.

               "There's no one around to see," Serenity hissed. "Why do you insist on patronizing me, Daniel? I'm only the innkeeper's daughter."

               "But you're very pretty." He twirled his empty cup around on the wooden tabletop, his long shirtsleeves pooling at his wrists. 

               "When are you planning on leaving Port Royale?" Serenity said after a moment of glaring at the man that sat before her in a ridiculous shirt with too long sleeves and a wicked grin. 

               "I'd rather have my way with you first," Daniel answered sarcastically, refilling his teacup. Serenity knotted her hands tightly together under the table as she stared at him in disbelief, knowing what he meant by his words but not knowing exactly how he meant it. She hated how Daniel could see how he frightened and confused her, and she hated how those same eyes seemed as if they could unlace a corset on their own accord…

               "Why are you doing this?" she asked, voicing her thoughts without any of the silly pretenses that she was used to. 

               Daniel smiled. "Because I'm a scoundrel, aren't I?" 

               "The worst I've met, and I live in an inn," she said. 

               "Then you haven't met very many scoundrels, have you now?" said Daniel. "I wouldn't kill ye after I had me way with ye. I would _take care _of ye." 

               "What's your definition of 'taking care' of something?" 

               "We'll just have to find out then, won't we?" 

               Serenity leaned closer across the table as she stood up and placed both of her hands down in front of him. "_Not tonight_."

               "Goodnight, then," Daniel said in an oddly cheery tone, leaning up quickly and placing on her lips a kiss that was by all means innocent if it had come from any other man. She jerked her head away from him and fled up the stairs to the sound of his laughter, laughter that came from the same mouth that had dirtied the lips which Will had kissed… 


	14. Fourteen: Moment of Silence

~*~

Chapter Fourteen

Moment of Silence

~*~

               Serenity hastily climbed up the stairs and was trying to maneuver through the dark hallway to reach her room without a candle. She stumbled as her foot hit the edge of the thick rug that covered the old wooden floor but she caught herself before she fell. "Who trips on a_ rug?"_ she said to herself as she rearranged her skirts.

               "Obviously, you just did."

               Serenity sighed. "Connor, I've had enough of strange nighttime encounters for a day. What are you doing up?"

               "I heard noises coming from downstairs," he whispered, eyeing the glow of candlelight that was leaking through the crack under the kitchen door. "MY room's just above the kitchen and I'm a light sleeper. I heard voices."

               "Yes, Daniel and I were talking," said Serenity.

               "I don't trust that man," said Connor gravely. 

               "That makes two," Serenity replied.

               "There's something unsettling about him," Connor continued. "From what I know of Daniel, you can only expect the worst from a man like that."

               "Well, that that means that you know more about Daniel that I do, because I know absolutely nothing of his past, or his future, for that matter. He won't tell me why he's here."

               "Yes, I would expect top find a man like him passed out on a bed in some Tortugan brothel," said Connor. 

               "I told him that in nicer words," Serenity yawned. "I do not trust him at all. He's…dangerous."

               "Did he try to hurt you?"

               "No, he didn't _actually_ hurt me, but I wouldn't put it past him," Serenity said. Connor relaxed a little and went back to examining the handrail on the staircase. 

               "Anyway," Serenity said after a moment of silence, "I'm finally ready to try to go to sleep now. All these abnormal conversations have worn me out." Connor smiled. "Goodnight, Connor," she added warmly. Connor took her hand and brushed his lips across the back of it.

               "Goodnight, Serenity." Their hands lingered together for a moment and slowly drew apart, and once more Serenity could not stop smiling. And this time Daniel wasn't there to ruin it. _This must be what Elizabeth Swann feels like all the time,_ she thought as her mind drifted over her day at work and across her conversations with Daniel and Connor to finally rest on a pair of warm brown eyes as she drifted off to sleep.

~*~

               Will wrapped his arms around himself as he tried to warm his body, as the thin sheet that he had been provided with was not enough in the cold months of the year. He supposed his body could be already warm and he wouldn't even know it, as his mind seemed to have shut off. He could hear the ocean through the cracks in his window, and it was soothing, and although he did not sleep his blank mind sank into some kind of stupor, and his eyes closed and he did not move for a long while. 

               When he opened his eyes again it was sunny, and although he was still as tired as he had been before he went to sleep (if that was what you would call it), he felt slight refreshment over his fatigue. He pulled the sheet up over his pillow- his sorry excuse for a made bed- and pulled on his boots. The conch shell sat on the windowsill in the workshop as usual, and the sun shone on its curved dappled topside. He sighed as he began to work on that day's project, an order of pots and pans for the general store. _Always more pots, more pans, more irons,_ thought Will. _No one wants swords._

               The donkey that they kept in the shop grunted and took a few steps backwards, causing a whole contraption of wheels and gears to move backwards. "Forwards, donkey," Will said, "forwards." The donkey took another step back and then stood still. 

               Any other day he would have gone down to the beach, if he hadn't thought Serenity would be there. _We have to talk_, he thought to himself, but he knew that he wouldn't have the guts to talk to her first. _You can't talk to her, but you **could** kiss her. That's interesting._

Will found that the pots were done and he loaded them up on a cart with some other goods that he was to trade at the general store for money and provisions. _More beer money_, Will thought. _Wonderful._

~*~ 

               "Where are you going, Connor?" Serenity asked as her friend put on his hat and grabbed his jacket off its peg in the front hallway. 

               "I'm just going to run down to the general store to get some tobacco," he said, opening the door a crack. "It's much better here than it is back in Ireland."

               "I bet," said Serenity, glancing down at the dish she was in the process of washing. "Connor, do you mind if I come with you? It'll do me so much good to get out of this house."

               "I'd be glad to have company," said Connor, taking her shawl from the peg where it had hung next to his jacket.

~*~ 

               "Thank you sir," said Will as he counted out the money that he had gotten from the things Barnaby had told him to trade. He had already bought some vegetables and other essential items that Barnaby and him needed back at the shop, but he knew that Barnaby would be happy just to have a couple extra dollars in his pocket. He piled the things that he had bought up in the cart that a few minutes ago had been filled with pots and metal goods and grabbed the donkey by the harness. The beast stood stubbornly for a moment but then gave in, and Will began leading it down the street back towards his the shop. 

               Will was looking at his feet when he saw a familiar hem come towards him. _Serenity. _He knew the pattern of the dress she was wearing like the back of his hand, she looked so lovely in it. He glanced up at her face to see if she had seen him. She had. Her hand was tucked into Connor's arm again, but they were standing slightly closer together than they had been the last time he had seen them.

               "Will!" said Connor in a friendly tone. He was oblivious. 

               "Hello, Connor," he paused, "Serenity." A nervous smile passed across her face, but she managed to hide it from Connor. _Say something, you idiot. Make it better._

               "Have a good day, Will," said Serenity, sensing that both of them had nothing more to say, and not wanting to embarrass either of them in front of Connor.

               "You also, Serenity, Connor," Will said, jerking the donkey forward and continuing down the street, his head tilted down at the ground, his eyes filling with hot and angry tears.

               Connor glanced back at Will as he walked down the street in the opposite direction from them, his head bent low so that he wasn't looking at anything but passerby's feet. "Is he alright?" he asked concernedly. 

               "He's just distracted, is all. He's so focused on his work that sometimes he forgets that there's a different world out there," Serenity answered quietly. "He hides things from people. He hides things from _himself, _even. I don't think he knows what he wants, exactly."

               Connor listened to this spiel in silence, and thought about what she had said for a few moments afterward. "Maybe he just doesn't want to tell you," he suggested as they came upon the general store. "Sometimes men can do that. They'll just pretend like something's not going on, that they can make it go away by ignoring it until they think up a solution to their problem. And it's not just men, either; I've seen women do it to. It's sad, in a way," he continued. "People can't even admit things to themselves anymore."

               "Thank you, Connor," Serenity said, looking up at her companion. "Since you came here…things have been better. Really, they have."

               Connor grinned. "I'm honored, really, I am. Thank you, Serenity. And you're welcome, if that's what you wanted to hear." 

               Serenity laughed but couldn't help but glance back to see if Will was still there, or if he had left. _Don't be stupid, girl_, she told herself. _He's gone._ Connor bought his tobacco- "Enough to last me until I have to leave"- and met Serenity outside, where she was waiting for him. She had been contemplating asking Connor to walk with her down to the beach. Part of her said _yes, do it,_ but the other half protested _no, that's Will's spot._

_               Well, Will belongs to Elizabeth now, doesn't he? _"Connor," she said, "walk to the beach with me." 


	15. Fifteen: For Hell

~*~

Chapter Fifteen

For Hell

~*~

               Connor slid his tobacco into the pocket of his jacket and kicked off his boots, spraying sand out away from where he stood. The grains landed in the ocean, a few yards away from where Serenity was standing, her skirts gathered in her hands and her legs bare to the knees. "Come in!" she urged. 

               "Is it cold?" he asked.

               "Are we in the Caribbean or not?" she teased. Connor smiled and hurried down to where she was standing. His trouser legs were soaked within ten seconds of standing in the smaller breaking waves. Serenity was looking thoughtfully out at the horizon. "It must be so different to be out there with a boat, in the middle of nothing," she mused. "Is it shocking to be back on land again?" 

               "A bit," Connor said, "it's a welcome change from the stink and the awful, awful food. But being out there…sometimes its just like you're flying, almost. You're just out there…there's really no way to describe it."

               "I want to feel like that," Serenity said, giving up her feeble attempts to keep her dress dry and dropping her skirts into the rippling ocean. 

               "Do you?" Connor asked. "You'd be feeling like that for hell of a long time." 

"I don't care," Serenity said. "It'd be nice to just get away from here. Away from all the stiff military costumes and…away from all the salted bass," she joked. "I don't want Port Royale to be the last town I see before I die." 

               "It can get lonely out there," he said. Serenity tilted her head. 

               "Well, we don't have to worry about that just yet, do we?" she asked.

               "No," said Connor, "I guess not." He grinned at her, and she smiled back. Slowly he looped his arm around her waist and then looked deep into her eyes as if asking permission to go just a little further. Serenity's eyes slowly closed as she slid her hands around the back of his neck and their lips met as the ocean pounded in her ears. Connor's hold on her waist tightened slightly and he drew her closer to him, so that their bodies were touching. Serenity could hear his heart beat as they pulled apart and she leaned her head on his shoulder. It wasn't as fast as she had imagined a man's heartbeat after a good kiss would be. He absentmindedly stroked her hair as he looked out at the ocean and wondered how much longer he would be able to stay in Port Royale before his ship would inevitably leave and he would have to make a choice to stay or to go back out to sea with it. 

               While Connor was thinking about the decision that he would have to make, Serenity's thoughts, as always, had turned back to Will. She felt slightly guilty but at the same time content with what she had right in front of her. _I will always love you, Will_, she thought, _but you've already chosen…and now so have I. _

~*~

               "Where has Serenity gone?" asked Mr. Williams, her father. Mrs. Williams shrugged and continued washing the dishes.

               "I think she left with that man from Ireland that's been boarding with us," she said, "but I don't know where've they went."

               "With the Irish man?" asked Father. "I thought she had been hanging around the Turner boy."

               "Me too," sighed Mother, "But she denies it. I think she's telling the truth."

               "The Irishman," said Father, "Is he a sailor?"

               "Yes, I think so, but he's paying for his board in regular coins."

               "Good." Father glanced out the window. "Just make sure that she's back before dinner, my dear," he said as he kissed his wife on the cheek. She smiled warmly and plunged her hands back into the soapy basin to fetch the next plate. 

~*~ 

               Connor and Serenity walked back to the inn. Serenity was telling him about her life before he came to Port Royale. She told him about her friendship with Will, and she told him of her job and of the angry cow that they kept in the barn. He told her about Ireland and about all the voyages that he had made at sea, and about all the disease and death that he had seen. The conversation took wild dips in mood, from happy to sad to content to humorous. Serenity told him of the broken window during the hurricane and how she had been stupid enough to run outside and get hit with a wooden plank in the head. 

               "How did you get out of the storm?" Connor asked.

               "Will Turner came out and picked me and Kieran up, and he carried us to the doctor's house," Serenity laughed. "I've never really been one for rash decisions, but that…I wasn't even thinking when I went out there."

               Connor smiled. "At least you and the boy are still alive," he said, "That's always a good thing." 

               "Yes, being alive is always a good thing," she said.

               "Where's the boy now?" he asked.

               Serenity shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Kieran and his poor mother left our inn soon after the storm. I don't know where they went," she sighed. "I hope Kieran's okay. He really was such a sweet little boy." 

               Dinner was being put on the table as Serenity and Connor entered the inn. Connor took Serenity's shawl and hung it on the peg as she wandered into the kitchen in case her mother still needed help with the evening meal. "Serenity," her mother said, sounding a bit surprised and a little bit frazzled. "Where have you been, dear? We were starting to get worried."

               "Connor and I just walked down to the beach," Serenity said. "I didn't realize we were gone so long." 

               "Well, you know that there can be strange types around here sometimes," said Mother as Daniel passed by the kitchen door and winked at Serenity. "Anything can happen when you mix sailors with innkeeper's daughters," she warned. 

               "Mother," said Serenity calmly, "I'm not stupid."

               "I know that, darling," said Mother, "But even the smartest of people can suffer a loss of their judgment from time to time. Remember that incident with the little boy in the hurricane?"

               "Funny, I was just telling Connor about that," said Serenity. 

               "Just be careful, dear," Mother said as she carried a pitcher of milk to the table. "I won't rest easy until your married and staying at home safe and sound." 

               "Yes, Mother," Serenity sighed as she sat down. "I _know._" 

~*~ 

               Will sat at his workshop, the sword that he had been making laying in front of him. He was stuck. Every design for the hilt that he sketched on scraps of paper that he found around the shop looked worse than the last, and he was close to giving up. The shells lay scattered in haphazard designs around a stencil of the hilt, unwilling to arrange themselves in a good pattern. Even without the shells it was a good sword, perfectly weighted and all, but Will felt that without the shell designs that he had originally planned the sword would be incomplete.

               He angrily slid his chair away from the table and drew his favorite practicing sword from a rack on the wall. He practiced for his regimen length of three hours and then he sat back down at his shop and raised his hands above the sword, ready for all his creative juices to come flowing forth into the hilt of that sword.

               Nothing. Still nothing. 

               Will banged his fist down on the table next to the sword and glared at the shells as if they had done him some mortal wound. Angrily he sorted the shells according to type and then arranged them on the stencil, again and again and again. "Why can't I think of anything?" he yelled at the shells.

               "Calm yourself down, boy," came a drunken slur from the corner. Will sighed and slumped down in his chair. He reached into his pocket and took out the conch. It was still strung on the leather string that he had poked through it, so it could be worn as a necklace. Will remembered the day he tried to give it to Elizabeth. "Why do women always interrupt you?" he wondered aloud. "Why couldn't I give her this?"

               "Maybe it wasn't meant to be," came the drunken blacksmith again, waving a beer bottle around.

               "I could believe that if I believed in fate, Barnaby," said Will. "It's a pity I don't."


	16. Sixteen: Already Lost

~*~

Chapter Sixteen 

Already Lost

~*~

               Will woke up the next morning to the morning beams of sunlight shining through his eyelashes. The pounding knock on the door also helped a bit.

               He dragged himself out of his hammock and trudged through the cluttered workshop, running a hand through his hair and making a halfhearted effort to fix his appearance before he opened the door. He needn't have worried, however, it was only a rather frenzied looking maid standing on his doorstep. "Hello," Will mumbled groggily, "welcome to Brown's Blacksmith…I'm Will."

               "Captain Norrington of the British Royal Navy requests that you come to the governor's house, sir," said the maid, "he says he wishes to place an order, or something. I think that was what he said…"

               "When does he need me?" Will asked, leaning onto the doorpost as he tried to shake the sleep from his eyes.

               "Right now, sir," said the maid. "And I'm Ana, by the way…"  

               "I'll be there…just one moment…" Will shut the door on the prattling maid and hurried to the back of the shop where they kept a small, cracked mirror and a washbasin. He hurriedly splashed some water on his face and smoothed his hair, and then he changed into a clean shirt and trousers. "My hat…where are you?" he called to his hat as he wandered around the shop looking for the missing item. The hat was found behind a pile of empty beer bottles.

               The maid was waiting outside of the blacksmith's shop, and Will was surprised that she wasn't still talking. She had a nagging poor English accent, and it was all the worse because she didn't stop talking until they reached the pointed cast-iron gates that barricaded the governor's house from the rest of Port Royale. A prim-looking British officer was patrolling outside the gates, his rifle angled over his shoulder and his boots so shiny that Will feared they would fall straight to pieces in battle. Ana told something to the guard, who gave a crisp nod and opened the gates for them. Ana then led Will up to the front steps, where a butler opened the door and beckoned them inside. 

               Soft harpsichord music was wafting in from the parlor, where two officers in the telltale red coats were seated with the governor on two couches, drinking tea. 

               "I think it is an excellent proposal," said the dark-haired officer that Will knew was Captain Norrington. "She is as beautiful and, may I say, as intelligent as they come. I could not imagine myself being any luckier."

               "Yes, I'm sure that she will wholeheartedly welcome the idea," said the governor as a maid offered him a plate of scones. He took one and then turned back to his company. "We shall make arrangements at a later date." Norrington nodded. Will noted that Elizabeth was nowhere to be found as the governor took notice of him standing awkwardly in the doorway and beckoned him inside. Will stepped forward and bowed.

               "Hello, Mr. Turner," said the governor, smiling and turning to Norrington and his friend. "Norrington, Gillette, this is the extremely skilled, if I may," he said, nodding to Will, "blacksmith's apprentice. He is very talented with sword making." 

               "Well, we have to give the new recruits something," said Gillette with a raise of his eyebrow. Norrington laughed.

               "Very well then," said Norrington, rising from his seat and beckoning to his assistant, who brought him a sword. Norrington then handed the weapon to Will, hilt first. Will drew the sword out of its sheath and examined it, thinking that there might be something wrong with the blade like in the instance of Connor's dented sword. Norrington cleared his throat. "I need ten more swords, like this one," Norrington said. "They don't have to be fancy or intricate, the idiots that are training to be officers for Great Britain wouldn't know intricacy if it hit them in the face." The officer laughed dryly as Will placed the sword back into it's sheath.

               "Alright," said Will. "When do you need them by?"

               Norrington shrugged. "Two weeks? I'll send my assistant to fetch them from your…place of _work._"  
  


               "Ten swords, two weeks," Will whispered to himself as Norrington took the sword back from him and handed it back to his assistant. 

               "You're dismissed, Mr. Turner," said the governor. 

               "Right." Will turned on his heel and headed back into the foyer when he heard someone calling his name. 

               "Hello, Will," said Elizabeth, who was standing on the landing of the stairs. She was wearing a white lace dress with long sleeves that set off her pale skin. Her hair was piled on top of her head, with a deliberate looking curl trailing down one of the sides. Although Will thought she looked beautiful, like an angel, no doubt, a small cynical voice in the back of his head whispered that that hair would not last a moment if Elizabeth was called to some sort of practical task like milking a cow or something of the sort.

               "Miss Swann," he managed to say, and breathily too, as the majority of him was feeling rather swept away by her rather unearthly presence. She glided down the stairs towards him and smiled brightly.

               "Will," she said routinely, as always, "How many times must I ask you to call me Elizabeth?" 

               Will sighed. "At least one more time, as always, Miss Swann." And, as always, Elizabeth's eyes clouded and she became more drawn back then before, more disappointed.

               "So have you been faring well?" she asked. 

               "Yes, very well," answered Will, not knowing quite what to say.

               "That's good," said Elizabeth. 

               "How have you fared?" said Will, thinking that that was the proper thing to do. However, it didn't quite sound natural coming from his lips. It sounded funny to him, too proper to be spoken by a blacksmith.

               "As well as one can fare when one is cooped up in this big house all day long," she laughed. "I hear Captain Norrington is putting you to work."

               "One must work to put food on the table, Miss Swann," he replied. 

               "Yes, of course," she said, even though she knew nothing of work. She was leaning forward slightly over the railing of the staircase, and Will awkwardly tried to avoid looking at her _slightly_ prominent bust. 

               "Um…" Will said.

               "The other day, I was thinking about the day we met," said Elizabeth rather abruptly. "When we were crossing from England…do you ever wish you could go back? To England, I mean."

               Will thought for a moment. "No." he said. "Never." 

               Elizabeth paused, not expecting such a definite answer. "May I inquire as to why not?" she asked.

               "I belong here in Port Royale," said Will simply. "Everything I ever had, everything that I have ever cared about that is not already lost is in Port Royale. If I went back to England, I would have nothing. I would have to start over…again."

               Elizabeth cocked her head. "I would go with you to England," she said.

               "Then maybe, one day, I will consider it," said Will, "but not for a time yet." 

               Elizabeth nodded. "Goodbye, Mr. Turner."

               "Goodbye, Miss Swann." Will walked out the door and closed it on one of the most awkward conversations he had ever had in his entire life.


	17. Seventeen: What He Couldn't Have

Short chapter, illustrating Elizabeth even more as a conceited b****! Man, I love writing her that way… *grins*

~*~

Chapter Seventeen 

What He Couldn't Have

~*~

               After dinner one night a few days later the man with the panpipes was sitting in the corner of the parlor, looking out the window in a melancholy way and sliding his lips along his instrument. The ghostly tunes swept over Connor as he awkwardly approached the couch, where Serenity's father sat smoking a pipe and reading a book. Connor cleared his throat and Sam Williams glanced up from the words on the page and smiled. "What may I do for you?" he asked. 

               Connor sat down in the chair opposite of Sam and folded his hands onto his knees, leaning forward in a rather anxious way. The panpipes continued their haunting melody as Connor opened his mouth to speak. _I hate formalities,_ he thought, even though he was from Ireland and when a man wanted to court a woman in Ireland, you had to get the permission of the girl's father there too. _It's the same thing,_ Connor tried to reassure himself. "I was wondering, sir," he began, hating the nervous sound of his voice as he began to speak. _Sound strong! Assured! Make him want me to court Serenity!_ He glanced towards the open doors that led out of the parlor, knowing that Serenity was hiding behind them, listening to every word. "I was wondering, sir, if I may ask permission to court your daughter," he forced out. Behind the double doors, Serenity smiled, knowing how Connor hated this sort of thing with a passion. She was relieved when her fathers words sounded more pleased that apprehensive. After the two men talked in low voices under the music of the panpipes for a little while, Connor appeared in the doorway, smiling brightly. 

               "He said yes?" Serenity whispered, already knowing the answer. Connor smiled brightly and kissed her as the music faltered and slowly faded into the background mists of a black Caribbean night. 

~*~ 

               Even the darkness of the night did not prevent Daniel from making his habitual trip down to the dock to check, once again, if any new ships had come into port. Only a British merchant boat had, not a scallywag aboard. He wondered what had happened to the scoundrel that he had paid off a few days ago to get him some information, but he hadn't really expected him to come back with anything solid. Angrily he sighed and kicked at the sand that was scattered across the wooden surface of the dock. _Am I **ever** going to get home?_ He thought as he glared out into the darkness. The sky traced a moonlit pattern across the ocean from where the opalescent orb hung in the sky. Constellations passed unnoticed over Daniel's head as he trudged back to the inn, wondering why he didn't want to ride down to the smuggler town and hire himself a prostitute. He hadn't had once since his last visit down there and to his surprise, he didn't miss it as much as he thought he would. _Maybe I can bag that Williams girl, pretty thing she is. What a prize that would be back on my ship! I would be welcomed back with open arms…_ he mused as he kicked a pebble down the street with his toe. _Lets just hope that she doesn't find out anything before I leave. After, though,_ he laughed to himself, _it won't matter much, will it? _ 

               _Will. That blasted Turner boy. Spittin' image of his father, he is, but that just makes things easier for me, doesn't it? _ 

~*~ 

               Serenity walked happily a few days after that to the Swann house, a smile brightening her already pretty features. This did not go unnoticed by Lady Chastity, who mentioned the current buoyancy of her mood, and the tutors were confused of how willingly Serenity complied to their orders that day. The children were happier too, as Serenity was a much better playmate when she was happy. Elizabeth, visiting her aunt again for tea, was taking more notice of Serenity than usual, as her happiness probably meant that either she had taken her relationship with Will higher or she had found someone else. All Elizabeth could think of during the time that she was supposed to be discussing party plans with her aunt was hoping that it was the latter that the girl was so happy about.

               And, for once, fate seemed to be on Elizabeth's side as the butler led a clean-shaven, good-looking man into the parlor while she was finishing a scone. _He's a nice looking boy;_ Elizabeth couldn't help thinking as the butler announced him as a 'Mr. Connor O'Malley.' 

               "He is here for Miss Serenity, Lady," said the butler, addressing Chastity. 

               _So she's managed to find someone who's at least as good looking as Will!_ Thought Elizabeth, surprised. _That girl has a touch with men! _

"Very well," said Chastity, remaining unaffected by the unfamiliar face. "They're just finishing up their lessons, they will be a few minutes," she said to Connor. "Please, sit down." 

               And that is how a poor Irishman with his hat in his hands found himself sitting in the sophisticated parlor of the richest family in town. 

               "What brings you to Port Royale?" asked Elizabeth.

               "I'm a sailor," he said.

               "I see," said Elizabeth. "How do you know Serenity? Are you courting?" she added, knowing that she could get away with being forward because she was speaking to someone of lower class. However, Connor looked confused and rather affronted by her words.

               "Yes," he said slowly, "Serenity and I are courting. I'm staying at her father's inn," he said, his brows drawn together.

               _So he **is** taken,_ thought Elizabeth disappointedly. _But now Will can be mine!_

               Coincidently, Serenity was also thinking of Will at that moment. She felt a bit guilty, but at that time she was so far convinced that Will had only kissed her because he couldn't have Elizabeth that part of her didn't care anymore. She still loved him, yes, but not with the same devotion that she had earlier. He would always be a loving brother in addition to the brother she already had. _You won't be forgotten, Will,_ she thought,_ but there had to come a time when I had to leave you behind…_

               Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Miss Serenity," said the butler, "A Mr. O'Malley is here to see you." The smile returned to her face as she went to Connor in the parlor and tried to ignore the way that Elizabeth was looking at him. Connor slid his arm protectively around her waist as she stood next to him. 

               "For your services today, Miss Williams," said Chastity as she paid Serenity for her day's work. 

               "Thank you, Lady," said Serenity as she curtsied and then followed Connor out the door.

               And even though Elizabeth had really won, she couldn't help feeling that she had lost at the same time.


	18. Eighteen: Caribbean Winter

People, let us be logical here. Could Will and Serenity get together without me having to put an AU label on this whole thing? It's not to say they won't in the future, but it's very possible that you might have to read a couple of epilogues before we get to that point… *evil grins* haha! A/N cliffie!!! muahaha 

This chapter is dedicated to Truffles and to Kelly Bloom, my two most faithful reviewers! 

~*~

Chapter Eighteen

Caribbean Winter

~*~

               The days passed dreadfully slowly as Port Royale sank into a Caribbean winter. The temperatures cooled slightly but that was really the only change in the weather. Will remembered the English snows as he worked on the swords to be finished for the recruits. He could see the white blankets covering the world through his eight-year-old eyes, but remembering caused him to think of other things, things long gone, things long passed away. Memories caused him to grit his teeth and work with a renewed fervor, trying not to think of all the things that had gone wrong in his life as of late. _Let's make a list,_ he thought sarcastically as his hands pounded away at the shiny steel that lay before him on his knotted worktable. _Things that have gone wrong in William Turner's relatively short existence: Mother. Father. Elizabeth. Serenity. Did I already say Father? _Unable to focus, he threw his tools down onto the table and sank down into Barnaby's favorite chair. The only reason that the blacksmith was not sitting in it drinking beer at the moment was because he was sitting on some stool in some bar drinking there. _This **is** comfy,_ thought Will, slumping down and slowly dozing off.

               The only thought that kept him buoyant in those slightly shorter, darker days of winter was the hope that maybe Elizabeth was finally coming around. In the few months of time that had passed since he had received the order from the British Royale Navy, Will had thought up excuses to call on the Swann household. Elizabeth usually was there, and she would smile and once again ask Will to call her by her first name, and once again Will had to politely decline and a shadow would pass over Elizabeth's spark-filled eyes and dim the rest of their conversation. They would then talk for a bit and then Will would go home to sleep in the rope hammock while Elizabeth would retreat up the gracefully curving staircase so that her maids could tuck her into her four poster bed under soft sheets.

               While her feet were being warmed by the hot bricks slipped under the covers, Elizabeth would think of Will, awake but dreaming of him as if she was asleep. She could see his lovely eyes swim before her as if he was standing there, he could feel the warmth of his body behind her as if he was lying next to her on the bed… but it was all a dream. Elizabeth would then get up and open the compartment in her bedside table and clutch the necklace to her breast, hoping that something that once belong to Will would provide the same warmth that he himself would if he had been there with her. The gold was smooth against the soft tips of her fingers as she held it to her into the night, thinking of how he would say in his warm voice again tomorrow, _At least one more time, as always, Miss Swann_.

               At least one more time, as always, Miss Swann. 

            _Why will he not call me Elizabeth? _She thought in despair. _I know its proper and all, but will he not let go of tradition for even a single moment?_ She could hear him speak her name in her head, but she wanted it to be real- realer than all the dreams that she had been dreaming of him since they pulled him out of the icy water that day on the crossing. _My parents named me Elizabeth for a reason,_ she thought, _so that people could call me Elizabeth! But he won't, not even when my father is not around, he wouldn't do it. I wish he would warm up to me a little…I wish that he would show that he feels the same way about me as I feel about him…_

               He had been coming to call more often, though, which was a good sign. Often he would have a flimsy excuse, about the swords or something like that, but Elizabeth liked to hope that he was coming just to see her. She spent the winter saying goodbye to Will and anxiously waiting for the next time she would be able to say hello to him. _He doesn't still like Serenity, does he?_ Said a pessimistic voice in the back of Elizabeth's pretty head. _She has someone…that Irishman, Connor O'Malley. A fine one he is, though, Will should be mine by now! Hasn't Serenity choosing Connor over Will shown him that we were meant to be? Fate must have sent Connor here…only fate could have done this…_

               And in her mind's crazy ramblings about fate, she would drift off to sleep and wake up to the Caribbean morning… 

~*~ 

               One January morning found Serenity and Connor walking down to the dock, arm-in-arm. Connor was looking for news on his ship, which would most likely be leaving in a few months' time. "I'm looking for news on a ship…" Connor would say, "Have you seen this captain…" By the end of the morning they would have nothing, but the ship that Connor had sailed on remained in the dock, so he wasn't worried. "Someone will come get me when it's time to leave," he said, sounding assured, but also a little sad. He had grown to care for Serenity deeply in the months that he had stayed in the Caribbean and he would rather stay in that moment forever than sail back to Ireland, to famine and rain and potatoes… 

               Serenity had seemed to catch his mood and was also feeling a little down. She didn't want Connor to leave either, but she felt so confused inside that there was a little part of her that didn't want him to stay, either. Love had grown between them since he had come to the Caribbean but she still harbored feelings for Will inside…feelings that could never completely be altered. She wanted to change them more than anything, but she couldn't. Serenity was sure that she would never be able to completely forget him…completely forget what was a part of her. 

               The two of them walked idly down the road that ran parallel to the ocean, Serenity's hand tucked in Connor's elbow, as usual. His skin was warm in contrast to the slightly cooler air. "Now that's a fine ship," said Connor in his lilting accent, pointing to one of the docked boats. _Interceptor _was written in capital letters across the stern of the ship, under the British colors fluttering in the breeze. 

               "That's the fastest ship in the Caribbean," Serenity said. "It's the pride of the Royal Navy." 

               "I've heard of a faster one," teased Connor. Serenity rolled her eyes and grinned at Connor. She also had heard tales of the Black Pearl, the scourge of the Spanish Main, black sails fluttering in the wind under a whipping Jolly Roger. Many nights had found the occupants of her fathers inn sitting in the parlor, telling their tales of ships manned by the damned. "'Neigh uncatchable," the sailors would say. "Hell wouldn't even take in the captain of the Black Pearl…" 

               "The Black Pearl?" said Serenity, raising her eyebrows. 

               "Do you believe in it?" asked Connor.

               "I'll believe in it if it berths in Port Royale and takes Elizabeth Swann prisoner," said Serenity dryly. Connor sensed that she didn't especially feel like talking about Elizabeth, so he didn't pursue the subject. "Have you ever seen a pirate?" she asked after a moment. 

               "No," said Connor, shaking his head and glancing out at the horizon as if expecting to see the Black Pearl sitting there. "I've been lucky." 

               "I don't know if I'd mind if I met a pirate," said Serenity thoughtfully. "It would be a nice change of pace around here, don't you think? Liven things up a bit." 

               "Just as long as they didn't destroy your town, or kidnap you, or worse," said Connor, smiling. 

               "Yes," Serenity agreed, "just as long as they didn't kidnap me, or worse." Connor laughed quietly but then fell silent, gazing out to the sea once more. Serenity saw where he was looking and followed it out to the horizon. _Sailors,_ she thought. _They'll never be able to stay off the sea for too long. _As if to prove her correct, Connor sighed deeply. Serenity could tell that he was itching to return to his ship but she knew that she could never understand exactly how he was feeling. She nestled her arm deeper into the crook of his elbow to comfort him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "When you leave on your ship," she said, "will you come back to Port Royale?" 

               A smile pulled at the corner of Connor's mouth. "I don't think I could stay away for too long," he said, turning to meet Serenity's eyes. 

               "But you can't stay away from the sea, either," said Serenity.

               "That's a sailors life," he said. "When you're out on the sea and it's a bad day, you want nothing more than a warm, dry bed back on land. But when you're here," he continued, "there's nothing like the rocking of the boat under you, or the flying feeling that you get when you're up in the lookout and looking up at the sky and there's nothing above and nothing beneath ye." He pulled out from under Serenity's hand and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Some of the curls that had come loose from where it had been bound behind her head blew in his face as he looked out to the ocean. Serenity was trying to imagine how it felt. Surely that feeling, the ability to let go of reality for a moment, was worth giving up a warm bed and dry food for. 

~*~

               "Yo ho, yo HO! A pirate's life for me!" sang Daniel, dancing rowdily around the dimly lit pub with a mug in one hand. It was an afternoon late in February and Daniel was already drunk. " We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs, drink up me 'earties yo ho! Yo ho, yo HO! A pirate's life for meee!" he sang, slurring the verse. "Da na na na na…and even hijack! Drink up me 'earties yo ho!" he fell over onto a chair and swigged a drink from the mug, running it all down his shirt in the process.

               Although the sight of Daniel was a sad one indeed, it was not too uncommon a sight in the same smugglers town that he had visited before. Daniel had decided that, to celebrate hearing absolutely no news of the _Vengeance_ whatsoever, he deserved a drink. 

               "Yo ho, yo ho, drink me a pirates life for me 'earties!" he sang. 

~*~

R/R!!! Please? I'll give you ice cream with a cherry on top and all that false crap… 

:0) 

  
  



	19. Nineteen: Lost to the Wind

Please, I am begging you, PLEASE BE HAPPY WITH THIS CHAPTER!!! I wanted nothing more than to write all day but school started today and I had to write a freaking essay. WHO GIVES OUT FRIGGIN ESSAYS ON THE FIRST FRIGGIN DAY OF FRIGGIN SCHOOL???!?!!!?!?!?!?!?!! I hate school. I want out! (_Mo-omm, when do I turn 16? **Damn**.) _And just to let you all know, I've been planning out the chapters and this fic should turn out to be about 26 chapters long, including the epilogues and the final authors note. I'll write a sequel if you want one enough…but we'll leave that for chapter 25, k? Enjoy this one! Woah, 19 chapters…this might be the longest story I've ever written. It's definitely the most reviewed one, save the _Child of the Wood _(read it? It's LOTR Legomance! L/OC!) OK, now that I'm done plugging my other fic (it has a **sequel!**) enjoy my chapter. 

~*~

Chapter Nineteen

Lost to the Wind  

~*~

               It was the first beautiful day of the spring and Connor was pacing the dock alone, as Serenity was still fast asleep. It was rather early and the sun was just rising in the east, and the air had a nighttime bite to it. He was wearing his jacket and checking the ship logs that were posted on the dock, keeping a record of all the ships. He found nothing, however, but he didn't want to give up hope just yet. Every day was a new day. Every morning was the morning that he would find out when his ship was leaving. It bobbed placidly in the calm waters of the harbor, as if asking to be boarded and sailed high on the seven seas.  

               "'Ay," came a gruff voice from over Connor's shoulder. "You're the sailor that was askin' about this'un?"

               "Yes, that's me," said Connor tiredly. "Do you know when it's leaving?" 

               The man smiled to reveal a gap in his teeth. "Two weeks, son. Two more weeks a'freedom left for ye, and your goin' far this time. All the way 'cross the ocean, this voyage is. Better marry ye girl in case ye don't survive it," he leered. 

               "How do you know all this?" said Connor. 

               "Captain's my best friend," he answered, rather affronted sounding. "He just decided where he wanted to go last night. He was drunk as a pig," he added thoughtfully.

               "Well, thank you," said Connor. _Two weeks. I only have two weeks left. _

               "An'time." 

               Connor walked back down the dock and over the stone bridge in the direction of the inn, thinking of what he had to do and what he would have to by before they set sail again. _All the way across the sea this time,_ thought Connor. _What if we don't come back? _Transatlantic voyages usually left a lot of sailors dead or dying and diseased when they finally returned to berth. Their ships were no _Dauntless._

               _Better marry ye girl in case ye don't survive it._

               What if I don't survive? I'm not afraid of dying…I wonder if Serenity would miss me? She's really the only one I have left… I can't die, if it were just for her sake, don't let me die…

~*~ 

               Serenity was taking a walk. It was really the only solitary time that she had been able to enjoy in a while. She was staring down at her feet and watching the rocks steadily crawl by as she passed the governor's house unacknowledged by the guard. The door of the sprawling mansion closed and Serenity could hear footsteps coming down the gravel path, but she didn't look to see whom it was. There wasn't anyone coming out of the governor's household that would need her attention anyway, save for the person that actually did come out of the governor's household.  
  


               "Serenity," called Will as he ran up to her. 

               "Hello, Will," she said. He offered a slightly uncomfortable smile as a return greeting. 

               "So," she said awkwardly. "You were"- 

               "Up at the Swann's." Will completed her sentence. "Sword business," he stammered. 

               "Oh." 

               Will sighed. "Serenity, I'm so confused," he said, drawing her into a warm embrace. Taken off guard, Serenity wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair as he kept talking. "It's just that everything is so difficult…Elizabeth is so beautiful…but so are you…"

               Her arms stiffed from their embrace and Serenity drew away. She shook her head. "Goodbye, Will," she said sadly, and ran in the opposite direction at her full speed towards the beach. Coincidence had it that Connor was sitting in the place that they had come to regard as their special spot. The Irishman appeared to be thinking deeply about something, and Serenity slowed her pace so not to disturb him. 

               "Hello, Serenity," said Connor without turning around. Serenity slumped down next to him and took a deep shuddering breath. Slowly Connor slid his arms around her shoulders and cradled her against him, rocking her slightly to comfort her. "I leave in two weeks," he whispered. This piece of news, offered at the wrong time, only caused more tears to slide down Serenity's damp, sticky cheeks.

               "So soon?" she said to his jacket. Connor nodded. "I don't want you to leave," she whispered.

               "I don't want to leave either," he said. Showing the little tact that he possessed, he waited until she calmed down to ask her the question that had been plaguing his mind since that morning. 

~*~ 

               Will stood, dumfounded, and cursing himself in the same spot that Serenity had left him ten minutes ago. _Why can't I just talk to her? _his heart cried.

               _Go talk to Elizabeth. It will make you feel better,_ said his brain.

               _Serenity is the only one for me._

_               Elizabeth is the only one for **me. **_

_               Serenity! _

_               Elizabeth!  
  
_

"I'm following Serenity!" shouted Will to himself. The echo of his voice bounced off the green hills and stonewalls around him, bouncing off the waves and coming back to him, making him feel foolish and embarrassed. He marched resolutely down the street towards the beach where Serenity had run. _Don't make a fool of yourself this time,_ was the only thing that his heart and his mind actually agreed on.

~*~ 

               Connor slowly slid his arms from around Serenity, but he kept his hands on her shoulders as he slowly shifted his weight to his knee. 

~*~ 

               Will sprinted across the stone bridge that led to the harbor and to the beach, his legs pumping faster than they ever had before.

~*~

               Serenity was shocked as she realized exactly what Connor was about to do. He smiled nervously at her and reached into his pocket.

~*~

Will tried to push his way through the gaggle of dirty sailors making their way down the boardwalk and scurried across the sand dunes.

~*~

               "Serenity," Connor said, his voice steadier than the hand that was holding her own. In the other hand he held a little box. 

~*~

               Will came to the top of the dunes and scanned the beach quickly, searching for Serenity. 

~*~

               A slow, bright smile spread out across Serenity's face, making her feel more radiant than she had ever felt before.

~*~

               "Serenity!" 

~*~ 

               "Serenity…"

~*~ 

               Will was standing on top of the dunes, watching, his words lost to the wind. "Serenity!"

~*~

               "Serenity, will you marry me?" 


	20. Twenty: Setting Sun

20 chapters!!! Woohoo!!! Drinks all around! Chapter Twenty and Good Boy Records present: Chapter Twenty!   

**Eldae: **I am American enough to allow you your own opinion, but some of these other reviewers (AKA rabid Orlando Bloom fans) may not be so kind! When I first began writing this I didn't really _mean_ to make Elizabeth come off like that, but she just kinda did. I thought that's the way she was acting in the movie, so I guess it just flowed that way, for me. But I'm glad you like my fic. I would also like to say that I am not responsible for any cyber violence towards you of any kind. :0)  

I'm dedicating Chapter 19: _Lost to the Wind_ to **InBloom**, who realized that this _is_ in fact a pre-PotC fanfic. 

~*~

Chapter Twenty 

Setting Sun

~*~

                William Turner stood rather miserably once again on the steps of the governor's mansion. He was getting a little sick of the sprawling, elegant household, with maids waiting on every hand and foot. Elizabeth couldn't even dress herself without help, and things like that Will found hard to understand. He found himself once again being greeted by the butler and being led into the parlor, where the governor was sitting. His white wig was balanced on top of his head, and for a moment Will wondered what would happen if he tapped one side of it and it fell off. 

               "Mr. Turner, Captain Norrington is very impressed with your work," said the governor, sipping tea from a delicate cup. "We have also just received the wonderful news that he is being promoted to the position of Commodore."

               "That's wonderful," said Will. 

               "We are in need, however, of a ceremonial sword for him to use at his promotion, and I can think of no other man who can craft swords as you do."

               "Thank you, Governor Swann." 

               "I also have your pay from the _Commodore_ Norrington," said the governor, obviously delighted at the captain's promotion. He reached into his pocket and handed Will an envelope that contained some coins. Will nodded and put the envelope into the pocket of his waistcoat as the governor rose and led him to the door. "Make it your best work, boy," he said, patting him on the shoulder. The butler opened the door and Will found himself standing on the front step, blinded by the sunshine for a moment. The door closed softly behind him as he finally got a grip on his vision and hurried down the long, curving driveway.

               Serenity was gone. He had avoided thinking about it until that moment. Will hadn't exactly come to terms with how much the innkeepers daughter meant to him but now what he had denied was staring him in the face. She was gone, someone who Will had always taken for granted. _When Elizabeth let me down, Serenity was there for me, _thought Will. _But then I just went back to Elizabeth, again and again…I don't deserve Serenity, _he thought sullenly. _I don't deserve Elizabeth either._

~*~

               _I don't deserve anyone,_ thought Serenity, sitting absentmindedly in the study of Lady Chastity's house. She was twirling her plain but beautiful engagement ring around her ring finger. _I don't deserve Connor mostly because I don't deserve Will, but I won't let him go. Maybe Connor will let us move. We'll go far away, maybe to Ireland, and live there, so I can get away…but how can I tell Connor that I need to leave because I'm in love with someone else at the same time that I'm married to him? _

_               I love Connor,_ said a calm voice in the back of her head. _I can't have it any other way. Connor loves me. I cannot let him down._ She dropped her hands into her lap and her gaze returned to the studying children. She would be returning home in a few minutes but she wanted to make sure that they finished their work first. Finally when they closed their books she bid them goodbye and received her pay at the door. She held the envelope in her hand as she asked Lady Chastity if she could back out of her position, because married women don't work. Chastity nodded and told Serenity that the children would miss her. 

               Serenity felt the weight of the coins in her hand as she walked back down the street. _I earned this,_ she thought. _This is the last thing that I'll ever earn by myself in my entire life. I'm giving up my very being to become a part of someone else,_ she mused, _to become a part of Connor. _

Daniel was lounging about in front of the inn again, sitting on the steps, and smoking his pipe. He blew out a ring of smoke as Serenity passed. She tried not to gag on the vile odor of the smoke that brought dust to her lungs. "So you're gettin' hitched, aye?" he drawled.

               "Please don't be rude, Daniel," said Serenity softly. 

               "Why not stay with me?" he said, craning his neck backwards to look at her. He leaned his head back on the step above him, so that his forehead was right next to her right shoe. 

               "I wouldn't appreciate it if you were drunk at my wedding," she said, stepping away from him. He only grinned, the pipe drooping from his lips as she went inside. 

               "I wouldn't have to be at your wedding if I could find out when me damned ship's comin' back!" he yelled. 

               Serenity's mother looked up as she came inside. "Is that Daniel?" she asked.

               "Drunk. Again," Serenity answered. Mother shook her head but was unable to keep the smile off of her face. She was more excited about Serenity's wedding that Serenity was.  "Where is Connor?"

               "You know," said Mother thoughtfully, "I don't know. Do you think he would prefer"-

               "Mother, I really don't want to think about wedding plans right now," said Serenity in a rush. "I just…need a moment." She walked out the back way so that she wouldn't have to see Daniel again and wandered down the street for a few moments, thinking of where she could go. _I can't go to the beach,_ she thought. _I want to go somewhere that doesn't remind me of Will or of Connor…I need to be alone with myself… alone with myself for the last time. _

She hurried past the blacksmith's workshop, not daring to look inside. Serenity knew, however, that Will would be practicing with his swordsmanship. He would practice for hours at a time, alone in the forge. She didn't like to think of how lonely he was, it was just another way that she was letting him down. _I miss my old life,_ she realized. _I would give anything to go back to last summer, when everything was wonderful and happy. When did it all go wrong?_

               When Daniel came, everything changed. He put my life so far off track that I couldn't go back, and then Connor showed up, and Will grew even more smitten with Elizabeth as I grew more in love with him every day. Then Connor started taking notice of me and we started courting and we fell in love- such a different kind of love from the love I shared with Will, though. My love for Connor is passionate and beautiful but so is my love for Will…and I've loved him for so long. This will take time to get over. 

_               I'm doing the right thing by marrying Connor,_ Serenity told herself. _Even if Will and I were to start courting or something, I would always know that he loved Elizabeth more, even if he denied it I would know,_ she thought sadly. _Things could never be right between us as long as Elizabeth stood in the way. _

_               I guess that means that things will never be right. _

~*~ 

               _Damned ship. As soon as me ship comes in I can get my revenge and then get out of this hellhole!_ Daniel thought angrily, still sitting on the steps of the inn. _That blasted Turner's going to **pay**. Right picture of his father, he is. It's not doing him any favors. That shot's for him and I'll die killing him if I have to!_ Daniel's mind wandered up the stairs into his room, where his blasted pistol with the one shot inside sat. _That bullet's for you, Turner. It looks like we'll both be doin' something for our father's soon…I'll be killing the son of his killer and you'll be dying for it. _He laughed and took another drag on his pipe. The smoke curled around his head, shading his face from the glow of the setting sun.

               _I've still got some of that life in me,_ thought Daniel. _That day is going to be a day to remember. _

~*~ 

               The object of Daniel's anger was practicing his swordsmanship inside the smithy, as Serenity had thought. He had been practicing for two and a half hours and was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. This was the hardest workout that Will had ever forced himself through, and he was exhausted but it was worth it. _I need some kind of outlet for all this feeling,_ he thought as he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it onto the floor. He had drawn the shades over the windows, firstly so that no one could see inside and secondly because he didn't want to be distracted. Sword fighting was the only way he had to release his anger. The sword sparkled slightly in the candlelight as it sliced through the air, failing to remove all of Will's confusion but helping a bit. _This must be the only time that the swords haven't calmed me down,_ he thought, frustrated. Angrily he tossed the sword into its sheath and threw that onto the floor next to his other swords. He had finished the order of swords that Norrington had ordered for the recruits and he had begun carefully constructing on for his promotion ceremony. It lay in pieces on his worktable, waiting to be pounded into shape. Seeking another release, Will put his shirt back on and his blacksmith's vest on top of it, and began pounding all his anger away into the steel. 

_               ****_


	21. TwentyOne: No Regrets

~*~

Chapter Twenty-One 

No Regrets 

~*~

One week later… 

~*~

"It's beautiful," said Serenity, reaching out to touch the white fabric dress that Mother was holding up in front of her. It was the wedding dress that she had worn to marry Father, and now Serenity would be wearing it. The dress was plain but it was lovely nonetheless, and Serenity couldn't have asked for anything better to be wed in. "May I?"

               "Go ahead, try it on," Mother urged, handing the dress carefully to her. "I hope it fits you, dear."

               "Me too," agreed Serenity as she went behind the door. She took of her cotton shift that she had been wearing and slipped the gown over her head. To her surprise and delight, it fit almost perfectly, although it was a little tight in the chest area. _It'll do fine, _Serenity told herself, _If Elizabeth and all those other rich girls can wear those awful corsets, I can most certainly wear this! _Slowly she opened the door back up and twirled around. Mother clapped her hands together.

               "You look _stunning_," said Mother, reaching out to touch the fabric. "I'm so glad. It fits you?"

               "Yes, it fits well enough," said Serenity. Mother looked worried for a moment, and Serenity smiled. "I'll be fine, Mother, not to worry." She relaxed a bit and started thinking about the wedding plans again. 

               "Now, we can't let Connor see you in this," she said excitedly. "It's bad luck for a groom to see his wife in her wedding dress before the wedding!" 

               "Of course," laughed Serenity, walking across the room for a look in the mirror. She didn't look like herself; in her mother's wedding dress she seemed more to look like some kind of stranger. The woman in the mirror also seemed to be prettier than Serenity usually considered herself to be. Self-consciously she reached up and patted her hair flat, but it refused to stay.

               "And we'll have to figure out something to do with your hair," said Mother.

               "Maybe I should just leave it down," said Serenity.

               "It does become you," Mother admitted. "We'll think of something."

               "Alright," Serenity said, once again disappearing behind the door to slip off the dress and fold it back into it's box. As she watched the gown slide lifelessly back into the wooden container, she imagined their wedding. It was going to be a simple wedding, without much ado, and it was going to be held at the small stone chapel near their home. Serenity was glad to be married there, as it was the church she had been attending ever since she came to Port Royale. She sighed and put the lid on the box. Mother took it from the bed and slid it onto the top of her tall bureau. 

               "Are you nervous?" asked Mother happily. "I was so nervous before my wedding, I was vomiting into my chamber pot…it was _vile, _but you have a much stronger temperament than I did. I'm sure you'll be fine."

               "I am a little nervous," said Serenity, "but I know I'm making the right decision."

               "I know too, darling," said Mother as she came over to give Serenity a hug. "You're father and I are so proud of you. We couldn't have hoped for better." 

               "Thank you, Mother," whispered Serenity. "I know I won't regret this." 

               "In the long run," said Mother as they pulled away, "there will be no regret."

               "No regrets," said Serenity with a small smile on her face. "No regrets." 

~*~ 

               Daniel whooped with happiness and raised his mug in a toast. He had just heard the wonderful news that in a week his ship would be nearing the small smuggling hang where he had been drinking and waiting for news. All that waiting had just paid off. The _Vengeance _had been delayed for some reason and had not been able to near Port Royale until now, and now Daniel could get his revenge quickly and then leave before the police could catch him. _It's foolproof!_ He thought. _There's a bunch of buzz about the wedding, I sneak in, shoot Turner, and the leave before anybody finds out! It's wonderful! _He swigged his entire mug down in one gulp and then banged it onto the wooden table, making it shake. _I'm going home at last! _

~*~ 

               It was three days before the wedding and Connor stood in his room, listening to a lecture from Serenity's father. Although it was a lecture indeed, Connor was grateful for it as he did not have his own father to talk to three days before he was to be wed to the woman he loved. He had written a letter to his father and mother back in Ireland telling them all about Serenity and how after they were married they would sail to Ireland and visit them. He knew Serenity would like that. 

               "Love is always important in a marriage, and I'm sure you and Serenity share a very strong love," Sam Williams prattled on. Connor could tell he was extremely nervous about giving his only daughter away, but it was good that Sam had someone to unload all his unconscious worries onto. "As long as you are faithful to each other, your love will last a lifetime…" 

~*~ 

               Will was busying himself with making the most exquisite sword that he had ever made. The shell sword that he had undertaken months ago laid gathering dust in the corner, next to the conch shell pendant. He hadn't looked at the shells in a while, and their beauty lay forgotten as he worked on laying gold filigree into the hilt of the Commodore Norrington's sword. This sword was perfectly balanced, the hilt was the same weight as the blade itself, and Will wished that he could be there to see the Commodore use it. However, those fancy military to-dos did not welcome peasant blacksmiths such as Will Turner. They were for the rich folk that had connections and corsets. 

               Will hefted the unfinished blade and did a few moves with it. It was perfect, outshining every other sword that he had ever made. To test it, he set it onto his palm and watched the hilt be even with the blade. He tossed it into the air and caught it, watching the silver and the gold shimmer in the sunlight that was leaking through the windows. Will was working in frenzy, trying not to think about anything. He put the sword back onto his worktable and picked up one of his own swords and began his three hours with it. They passed quickly and soon Will found himself walking down the road to the beach once more. He avoided the strip of beach where Serenity and Connor had been engaged and instead headed for the sand on the other side of the dock, a place that he didn't usually go. The jetty stretched out into the ocean and Will found himself walking upon it, almost falling several times on the slippery stones. 

               "'Ay," someone called from the dock. "You're not allowed ou' on that jetty!" 

               Will sighed and made his way back to the shore with nothing to do except think, and he had only one thing to think about. 

~*~

               Daniel began excitedly packing his few items of clothing into a small bag that he had got at the general store. He had come off the fishing boat with only the clothes on his back, and he didn't have much more than that now, so it only took him a few minutes to gather his effects. Daniel put his pistol on top of his clothes and then pulled the drawstring tight. His room looked slightly plainer than it had fifteen minutes ago, but Daniel didn't lament the difference. He had only two or three more days before he would be out of Port Royale and back onto his ship. Daniel resisted the urge to shout with happiness again and instead went downstairs to grab a bite to eat. _In a few days I won't be eating anything except rats and gruel! _He thought happily. 


	22. TwentyTwo: To Die Alone

~*~

Chapter Twenty-Two

To Die Alone 

~*~

_I'm getting married tomorrow._

_She's getting married tomorrow._

_I'm getting married tomorrow._

_I'm getting out of here tomorrow._

_He can be mine tomorrow._

~*~

               _I'm getting married tomorrow,_ thought Serenity as she lay in her bed. It was late at night, but she was not able to go to sleep. She had tried counting the stars that she could see through the glass of her window, but that didn't work. She had tried closing her eyes and not opening them, but that didn't work. She had then tried keeping her eyes open in a little reverse psychology, but that worked least of all. Her body was exhausted and her mind was too, but it raced on nonetheless. Serenity turned over restlessly and buried her face into her pillow. 

               _I love Connor. I love Connor. I love Connor. I love W- Connor,_ she repeated to herself as she breathed deep and tried to relax her body. Her stomach muscles were cramping and making her whole body uncomfortable, and every few minutes she felt like she had to use the chamber pot again. _I love Connor,_ she told herself as calmly as she possibly could. _But you have to admit that I love Will too. _

"Be quiet," she whispered in a futile attempt to calm her thoughts. 

               _I don't think that's going to be happening anytime soon, love, _her mind retorted. 

               "Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet," she repeated. Then she sighed. "Calm down, Serenity," she told herself. _Everything will be all right tomorrow. Tomorrow you will begin your rightful place in this world, the place that you should be. What is meant to happen will happen. I cannot change fate now. Everything that happens tomorrow is meant to happen, for the best possible outcome. Tempting fate is never a good option._

_               What is meant to happen will happen, even if that means that I marry Connor and we stay here in Port Royale, together except when he's away sailing, until the end of our days. Even if that means that Elizabeth and Will marry and have many children, even if that means that I have to watch that happen, I will sit here in my home holding my head high. Even if that means not letting anything affect me. I cannot change the course of my future. If Connor and I are meant to be, then we will be. If we are not, then I shall have to live with it if nothing intervenes tomorrow. _

_               I have loved Will for almost my whole life, but we were lost. Now is my chance to take back what is mine and then share it with the rightful person. I love Connor. I have loved him since he came to Port Royale. Would I rather lose him?_

A part of her said _yes_, a part of her replied _no._ She slid her hand beneath her pillow and resigned herself to a sleepless night. Her stomach muscles relaxed a bit as she listened to her own thoughts trail on and on in a never-ending spiral, calmer now than they had been before. 

               _I am getting married tomorrow and there is nothing I can do about it._ The only thing that Serenity Williams could not bear more than the hurt look that she had seen in Will's eyes was a betrayed look in Connor's. _I am getting married tomorrow and it is a good decision. I am getting married tomorrow…_

               Slowly she drifted into a heavy sleep, and even the sunlight shining through her window in the morning did not wake her. 

~*~

               _She's getting married tomorrow,_ thought Will as he turned over restlessly in his hammock. _Tomorrow is the day that I will finally lose her, and I can't do anything about it. I wish I had never come to Port Royale. What was it worth for? I haven't found my father. I have only found things that I have lost. I have lost Mother and Father and Elizabeth and Serenity…but I never really had Elizabeth, did I? Is that really why I kissed Serenity? Why did I do that? Why did I do something that I don't even know why I did it? It's hopeless._

_               Maybe this is all meant to be._

_               Then why does it feel like this is all wrong?_

_               You won't give her up. She was a treasure that you lost. _

_               I thought I had her-_

_               You thought wrong. She belongs to Connor now. You might as well be dead to her. She only loves him._

_               I thought she loved me…_

_               Well, look what good her love for you did you. You still love Elizabeth._

_               You're right, I do…but I love Serenity too…_

_               Well, what are you going to do about it? There's nothing you **can**__do! You are going to stand there and be strong and watch her get married tomorrow. Stop being so selfish. Let Serenity go._

_               I can't…_

_               You're going to have to whether you like it or not. _

_               I'm going to have to let her go whether I like it or not. _

But he still did not sleep. 

~*~ 

               _I'm getting married tomorrow,_ thought Connor happily as he began to doze off on his pillow. Sheer excitement had kept him up all night until now, when his nerves had finally calmed a bit. His heart felt happy, filling him with a heady sense of fulfillment and purpose that was beginning to lull him to sleep like a sweet, serene lullaby.  _I'm marrying the woman that I have loved more than any woman I have ever met before._ He laughed quietly to himself as he thought,_ I always assumed I would marry an Irish lass! But I'm so happy…_

_               Serenity will love Ireland. I must take her there. The greenness, the freshness, the feeling of home…it's like she belongs there, in Ireland, in the Ireland of my memory. She belongs among the trees and the green fields. Ireland and Serenity are both filled with life, they have so much in common…and I care for them both more than I could ever imagine._

_               I love Serenity so much. I'm so glad that she loves me back…I don't know what I would do without her. All those lonely months out at sea, and those common prostitutes never appealed to me, so everyone else had someone but I didn't have anybody to keep me company at night…I'm glad I never indulged myself that way. Now I won't die alone. If I had never found her… I would be out at sea in a few days, still alone, still searching for love and for adventure still… If I hadn't come on this boat I would never have found her. Coming to Port Royale was the luckiest thing that I've ever done._

~*~ 

               _I'm getting out of here tomorrow. All these months of waiting have finally paid off!_

_               Too bad I can't take Serenity. I would be welcomed back with open arms if I brought our captain a present. But who's to say I won't be welcomed back anyway? Haha! I've outplayed them all, everyone! I'll kill a man and get away with it! My desire for vengeance will be fulfilled and then I can rest in peace! Father, tomorrow you will be avenged! _

Who knew pirates had such honor? 

~*~ 

               _He can be mine tomorrow,_ thought Elizabeth as sleep slowly closed her lids. Her body was comfortably warm in the bed heated with hot pans brought by her maids. The soft fabric of her nightgown and the light breeze coming through the window caressed her skin, bringing a sense of fulfillment and fullness that she had not been able to experience in a while. When she closed her eyes and tuned out the sounds of her home around her, she could hear the sea. She had always loved the ocean, and now she was surrounded by sea. The sea had always seemed like a dangerous place filled with adventure, and that was why it appealed to her so much. The ocean reminded her of Will sometimes. Strong. Dangerous. Alluring. 

               _What will he do when Serenity is gone?_ Elizabeth wondered. _I don't wish Serenity ill luck…but maybe her marriage will finally show Will that I am the woman for him! I have loved him since I rescued him from the ocean that day long ago… I have always loved him. _Even there in her bedroom she could sea his lovely chiseled face before her eyes. She reached over out from under the covers and opened the compartment in her dresser. The medallion sat there, covered with a thin layer of dust. She blew it off and watched the gold regain some of its luster in the moonlight. Elizabeth smiled at the medallion and then closed the drawer. Maybe an adventure would find her in the morning.

               Maybe? Finding out everything about Serenity's wedding that she possibly could was going to be adventure enough! 

~*~*~*~ 

A/N- next chapter, everything happens. The next chapter is the climax of the story sooo, if you don't review, I might forget to post it. Hahaha! 

Review please. 


	23. TwentyThree: 'Till Death Do Us Part I

Sorry. I lied. I re-formatted the chapters of this fic and it's this chapter but mostly the next chapter that is the climax. Don't think I'm letting y'all off the hook- you still have to review! 

Also, review Nestrik's fics. I haven't read them. I'm only saying that because she's my sister, but I'm sure they're awesome. Just read them. The titles are _To Die Alone_, _In Your Arms_, and _When Tears Are Not Enough_. Coincidently I named chappy 22 _To Die Alone,_ but I wasn't copying. I swear! 

~*~

Chapter Twenty-Three 

Till Death Do Us Part I 

~*~

               Serenity woke up to bright sunshine streaming through her window, her mother pounding on her door, and a nauseous feeling in her stomach. _Today I will be married. Today is the first day of the rest of my life and the last day of life as I knew it. _She practically fell out of her bed and landed on her knees on the floor, her cheeks wet with tears but she did not remember crying. Hurriedly she wiped her face with her hands and opened the door. Her mother's arm hung in the air, poised for another knock, but she lowered it as Serenity stepped out into the hallway.

               "Come on dear, Connor and your father are already at the chapel!" said Mother. "Get on your dress, get it on quickly! Do you need any help?"

               "No," said Serenity from behind the door, sliding the dress over her head and watching it fall down to her feet, giving lovely shape to her curves and making her feel more like a woman instead of a working girl. When she was finished Mother came in again and began fussing with her hair.

               "Why won't it smooth out?" Mother wondered aloud as she tried to pin Serenity's thick hair up. However, the top would not stay smooth. She sighed, defeated. "I guess we'll have to leave it down," she said, sounding troubled. Serenity's hair fell back down around her shoulders, curling in the Caribbean heat. "I think you look lovely," said Mother.

               "That makes one of us," whispered Serenity, a little breathless. The air was muggy this morning, and it was hard to breath as it was without adding the nerves and tension of a wedding on top of it. There was barely a slight breeze in the air, and everything was still. 

               Mother handed a bunch of wildflowers to Serenity that she had picked the other day. They were all bright colors, reflecting their Caribbean homeland. Serenity took them as Mother placed her veil on her head and flipped the sheer fabric over her face. The world became blurred behind the veil, turning the colors of Serenity's world into world of bleeding surreal. She closed her eyes as she tried to hold back the tears, clutching the stems of the flowers until their thorns pricked her skin. Mother noticed her tension and lifted the veil so that she could look her daughter in the eye.

               "I cried before my wedding too," she said, smoothing the wrinkles of the wedding dress. "Just remember this- you love Connor. You love him! You're going to spend your lives together in happiness. I believe in you two, daughter," she continues, her own eyes filling with tears. "I wouldn't be letting you marry him if I didn't see your love plain as day before me."

               "Thank you, Mother," Serenity whispered through the tears. 

Mother smiled sadly and hugged her daughter carefully so as not to wrinkle the gown. "Come on, Serenity," she said as she pulled away, "we don't want you to be late for your own wedding!"

"Of course not," she replied and followed her mother, seeing herself not as a bride but as a ghost. 

~*~ 

Will turned over in his hammock and promptly fell off of it as it flipped him onto the ground. He groaned and slid his hand under his head as if to return to sleep, but he didn't as soon as he remembered what day it was. His eyes shot open but he stayed on the floor, not willing to move. If he moved than it would mean that this was not a dream and that Serenity really was going to marry Connor that day. _I can't let them do it._

_How are you going to stop them? _

Will pried himself off the floor and wandered into the workshop. He was almost finished with the Commodore's sword, and he only had left to finish laying the filigree into the hilt. He walked over to his worktable and began the task, working until the sun was high in the sky. All the while he debated whether he should go to the wedding or not, whether Serenity would want him there or not. _Would I just prove an unwelcome obstacle?_ He wondered. _Would I be an obstacle in Serenity's path to final happiness? Or would she want me there?_

_               Why would she want me there?_ His hammer rose and fell, beating the metal into the desired shape. _I'm sure she wants to forget every part of her life that had me concerned in it. _

_               She loved me, but look where that got me._

_               I can't be an obstacle if she doesn't know I'm there._

               Will took off his working clothes and changed into something a little nicer. Than he slipped his three-pointed hat over his head and pulled it down so that it cast shadows over his face. The road to the chapel was long and dusty and he hoped that he wasn't too late.

~*~ 

               Serenity found herself, as if in a dream, standing outside the doors of the chapel clothed in white. She could hear the nasal sounds of the harpsichord playing the wedding march, and she knew that any moment she would have to force herself to walk inside. Her father squeezed her hand from where her arm was slipped through his elbow; she had walked this way with Connor many times. 

               _Will he be my last? _

               Her father was pulling on her arm now, and the doors to the chapel were open. Sunshine bled in through the stained windows, creating eerie triangles of light on the floor. The pews were filled with family and friends, some which had sailed from the surrounding islands just to see her wedding. For once Serenity was grateful for the veil covering her face, she would hate all these people seeing her with the look that she had on her face at that moment. She tried to arrange her features in an expression of calm confidence, as she didn't want Connor seeing the doubt in her eyes. 

               She could make out Connor's shape through the veil. He was dressed in his finest clothes, which were sailor clothes nonetheless. She could make out the black bulky shape of his hat through the crisscross white fabric of the veil. 

               _I will **never** tell him about Will. _

               They reached the front of the chapel, and her father lifted her veil so that he could kiss her cheek. "I love you, my daughter, and I wish you happiness," he said. Serenity tried to smile as the veil floated back down over her face, obscuring the world from her. 

               The ceremony passed by in a daze in which Serenity tried to think as little as possible. When it came time for Connor to lift her veil for the final time, she was grateful to find that her face was willing to cooperate with her, and she even managed a small and even happy smile. The world became slightly righter when she looked into Connor's eyes and saw the happiness there. His happiness was out there for the entire world to see, even brooding blacksmiths that hide in the shadows in the back of the chapel during a wedding.

               Will leaned against the wall and folded his arms over his chest, watching this take place from under his hat. He could see how happy they looked, how perfect they looked together. _I can't stay!_ His mind called out, but he forced his feet to glue themselves to the floor. He was not going to move until all this had come to pass. 

               The poetic words of the final vows floated back to him. He watched the two of them slip their rings on each other, a symbol of their everlasting love. _No! _part of him called out. _This isn't right, I shouldn't be here, I should be up there with Serenity! I should be the one marrying her! _Elizabeth did not once cross his mind in those few moments where he steeled himself unsuccessfully for the inevitable.

               _In sickness and in health…_

_               For rich or for poor…_

_               Until death do us part. _

"You may kiss the bride." 

               Will watched Connor lift Serenity's veil and kiss her, and in that moment his heart died.

~*~

               What happened after they kissed was like a dream for Serenity. She saw nothing. She felt nothing. She was floating down the aisle being pelted with rice, bursting out into the sunshine that she neither saw nor felt. 

               "Are you numb?" asked Connor happily. 

               "Yes," she answered. 

               _I don't feel anything._


	24. TwentyFour: 'Till Death Do Us Part II

Climax part dos! Enjoy…but I'm afraid that this ending won't exactly make you 'smile and laugh' (sorry Kelly!!!!) 

~*~

Chapter Twenty-Four 

Till Death Do Us Part II 

~*~

               There was a party at the inn after the ceremony was over. Serenity changed into a more comfortable outfit than the starched dress, which also provided an opportunity to be alone before she sacrificed herself before her friends and family. The noise from downstairs floated up through the floor as Serenity leaned on her windowsill and looked out at the street below. A lone figure walked down the street. Serenity knew who it was; she just didn't want to admit to it. Sadly she walked away from the window and crept down the stairs.

               Will had decided to go to the reception at the inn because he felt that he had to pay his respects to the bride and groom. _I will stay strong,_ he told himself. He too felt numb. Connor shook his hand as he entered and Will heard himself say, "Congratulations" and he felt himself smile. Connor was beaming. "Where's the bride?" Will asked lightly. 

               "She's upstairs changing," said Connor. Will nodded and went deeper into the crowd, looking for a familiar face. He ended up alone with a glass of cheap wine in his hand, raising it repeatedly to his lips in a hope that the alcohol would dull the pain. However, it wasn't working.

               Serenity saw how he was drinking as she descended the stairs, and she tried to avoid his gaze as Connor walked over to her and kissed her and then slipped his arm around her waist, but there was no missing the despair in his eyes. 

               _I have to get out of here,_ thought Will, draining the rest of the glass and then setting it back on the table. He tried not to appear like he was hurrying as he made his way through the crowd to the front door. "Will," he heard Serenity say rather pleasantly. Only he could catch the undertone that was meant only for him. 

               "Serenity," he smiled. "Congratulations."

               "You're leaving," she said. It wasn't a question.

               "I have some projects I have to finish," he said apologetically. Connor took no notice of it when Will wrapped his arm around Serenity. "Good luck," he said.

               "You too," Serenity said, her eyes filling with tears. This was a rather awkward exchange, however, as Connor's arm was still wrapped around Serenity's waist. The groom was mistaking her tears for tears of happiness, and Will heard them laughing together as he closed the door behind him. 

               He found himself standing, once again, alone on the stone road. Looking in the direction of the blacksmith's workshop, he decided that he didn't want to work. He wouldn't have been able to work even if he had wanted to, so instead he quickly stopped by the workshop to put his hat down and to change back into his regular clothes. Then he walked down to the beach, his only last source of comfort. Will's shoes remained at the shop as he walked to the surf, past a couple of beached canoes with their oars spread across the tops. He ran his finger over the edge of the closest oar as he dragged his toes through the salt water, trying not to cry. 

~*~ 

               A few minutes earlier, Daniel had noted that Will was leaving the party and had hurried upstairs to grab his bag of belongings. He could see the satisfying metallic glint of the butt of the pistol in the sun. He watched the blacksmith stop at his shop and then walk to the beach. _This couldn't be more perfect,_ thought the pirate as he hurried stealthily down to the shore, following Turner about a hundred yards behind. The pistol slid easily out of the bag and fit his hand perfectly as he continued to trail the blacksmith. 

               He had a trusted man's word that the _Vengeance_ would be docked just off Port Royale today long enough to get supplies, and luckily, it was. Daniel had made sure that there was a few fishing canoes left out on the beach so that he could shoot Turner and then row out to his ship before anyone could realize what he had done. _They won't have any proof! The cleanest of clean getaways,_ he thought. _Perfect._ And Turner was cooperating more easily than he had imagined! He hadn't planned Turner walking down to the beach! _Luck's on my side today,_ thought Daniel as he watched Turner caress the oars of one of the canoes. Slowly Daniel flicked the safety and swung his bag over his shoulder. _Here we go._

~*~ 

               As Daniel was trailing Will down the street, Serenity had just about had enough of the party. She had resorted to tugging on Connor's shoulder like a little girl would tug on her father's shirt when she wanted something. "Can we leave for a moment? Just us? I need to get out of here," she whispered to him. Connor nodded and began walking towards the door.

               "I was just about to ask you that," he said, still smiling. Luckily, some of his happiness was infectious and Serenity felt her spirits lift a little. The horizon looked brighter as they walked down the street together. 

               "Let's go to the beach," she said, "Like always."

               "Like always," agreed Connor. 

~*~ 

               Daniel crept out from where he was crouching and hiding from Turner. _One shot. I won't waste it. _"Turner," he barked, hiding his pistol behind his pack so that Turner wouldn't panic and run right away. The blacksmith turned around, surprised to find that he had company._ Company of the most unwelcome kind,_ thought Daniel as he saw his face. _He **will** pay for what his father did to my father. My father must be avenged. _

               "Daniel?" said Turner, struggling for a moment to remember the pirate's name. 

               "That's my name," said Daniel.

               "What are you doing here?" asked Turner. 

               "Same thing that you are, I'm sure," replied Daniel, his finger itching to find the trigger of the pistol that he held behind his back. Finally he found the single significant strip of metal and whipped out the gun from behind his back, leveling it with Turner's forehead. The blacksmith stumbled backward as if he had been slapped, throwing his hands up in the air. 

               "Wha"- he gasped out. 

               "Your father killed my father," said Daniel simply. "This is how it's done."

               "What's done?" 

               "Revenge." 

~*~ 

               Walking a step in front of Connor, Serenity scanned the beach to see who else was there. Or, more correctly, who else was not there. _Will?_ Her mind called. She suspected that he would be here; she didn't expect him to actually go back to his shop to work. Will had always loved the ocean; it had always helped him sort himself out. Where else would he be at a time like this?

               At first she saw only Will, staggering around on the sand behind some canoes with his hands thrown up in the air. As she craned her neck around to see, the pistol came into view, then an arm, and then a face. She clutched Connor's arm.

               "Connor," she said breathlessly, pointing. "Look." Her husband broke out into a run, running swiftly but silently and staying behind Daniel's line of vision. He ran behind the pirate and came around his left.

               "Daniel," he was saying as Serenity ran up to him. However, he did not take his eyes of Will, or his finger off the trigger.

               _He's going to shoot him. _Serenity could see the muscles in Daniel's hand tense as he prepared to pull the trigger. 

               "No!" she yelled, lunging forward with her hands stretched out before her, aiming to push the gun out of the mad pirate's hands. But instead, she connected only with his arm, and he still pulled the trigger as she pushed the gun away from Will. She could hear Daniel shouting something, but the words remained a mystery. The bang of the gunshot was still ringing madly in her ears as she felt Daniel pick her up with one arm by the waist and then throw her into a canoe. She opened her eyes and saw Daniel throw the pistol at Will's head, and it connected, blood spraying across the white sand. "No, no!" she yelled again, trying to jump out of the canoe. However, Daniel had already pushed the boat off the water and had taken some rope out of the bottom of it. She tried to kick him as he tied her feet, she tried to stop him as he bound her wrists, but she was silent as he gagged her mouth. She could only speak with her eyes, and she said _'Why?' _

               "I hadn't actually planned on taking you back with me, but why not? You'd only run off and make more trouble for me if I didn't take you, and you're pretty anyway. The captain will like you," he leered. "Oh, and your husband is dead, and your unlucky friend too. I wasn't aiming for your husband. You did that when you tried to push the gun away from Will because I was going to shoot him. His father killed mine. It's called vengeance."

               Serenity lay tied in the bottom of a canoe while they sailed to a pirate ship while Daniel calmly and willingly told her why he had killed the two men she loved the most in the world.

               


	25. Epilogue I: Will

The song belongs to Michelle Branch of Maverick Records.

~*~

Epilogue I  

Will   

~*~

**Its been a long, long time **

**Since I looked into the mirror**

Will came to a few hours later. The sun was setting as he woke, sending fireworks dancing across his eyes as he tried to sit up. The world swam across his eyes as he turned over and threw up into the sand as he remembered some of what had happened. Stars appeared in the sky as he crawled slowly across the sand towards the body that lay a few yards away from him. _Connor,_ he remembered. He recalled seeing Serenity fly across the beach, sand flying underneath her feet as she reached out for the gun. _She wanted to save me, and instead she shot her husband._

**I guess that I was blind**

**Now my reflection's getting clearer**

Connor's skin looked pale in the starlight and Will could make out a bullet wound in the man's chest. The man's eyes were still opened, and Will reached over weakly to close them. Slowly he slid the lids over the glazed eyes with the tips of his fingers, closing them off from their last view of the world. He tried to pick up the corpse but he was too weak. _I can't move anymore._

Now that you're gone Things will never be the same Again 

Will laid his head back down on the sand, as far away from the corpse as he had the strength to move himself. _This can't be happening,_ he thought. _This must be some kind of horrible dream. When I wake up, it will be Serenity's wedding day again, and she'll get married, and everything will be wrong but still it will be right because that was what was meant to be._

**There's not a minute that goes by every hour of every day**

**You're such a part of me**

**But I just pulled away**__

_Was this meant to be? _He wondered._ Is all this for the greater good?_ He glanced at Connor. _It's not for his greater good, for sure…but maybe it will be better in the end. _The nauseated feeling was still in his stomach, dragging him down and making sleep impossible. The sand was rough and grainy against his skin and some of the grains had slipped into his clothes. _I need to go home. I need to go home. _Again he tried to pick himself up, but he was still dazed. _I had a head wound…_ he realized. _I should probably see a doctor…I can tell the doctor that the body's here…I need to go home. _Leaving the body on the sand like some kind of monument to the events of the day, he dragged himself back through sunshine and wind and hurricane winds to Doctor Hinton's house, stopping to save Serenity and Kieran on the way… 

**I know you had to go away**

**I died just a little**

**And I feel it now**

**You're the one I need**

"Doctor," he groaned at the front door, slumping down against it. His head knocked against it as he lost energy and finally succumbed to the sleep that had been threatening to take him again since he had woken up. 

He woke up again six hours later in the parlor of the doctors home, in the same room that he had waited with Serenity and Kieran and Barnaby. _Why can't we have those days back? Why isn't Serenity sleeping in my lap? Where are the winds of the hurricane?_

**I believe that I would cry just a little**

**Just to have you back now**

**Here with me**

"Head wound," he heard someone mutter. 

"Serenity…" groaned Will.

"It's not as bad as it might have been…he'll be disoriented for a few days, yes, but whatever struck him didn't strike him with that much force. The gun that you found which was supposedly thrown at him must have been thrown at a distance." 

**You know that silence is loud**

**When all you hear is your heart**

**And I wanted so badly just to be a part**

**Of something strong and true**

**But I was scared and left it all behind**

"Daniel!" yelled Will at the top of his lungs. 

               "How long has he been talking?" 

               "He said something about a hurricane when we brought him in…he's been muttering names ever since."

               "What names?"

               "Um…Connor, he said…Connor and Serenity, and then Kieran…I think he may have said something about a Barnaby, also."

               "Ah… I see…" 

**And I'm asking**

**And I'm wanting you to come back to me**

**Please? **

               "Save me," said Will. 

**I never will forget that look upon your face**

**How you looked away and left**

**Without a trace**

**But I understand that **

**You did what you had to do**

**And I thank you**

               "We're working on it, son. Go back to sleep."

               _Sleep… _ 

**I know you had to go away**

**I died just a little**

**And I feel it now**

**You're the one I need**

               Will found himself standing on the beach, the conch necklace digging into his hand. "This was for you, Serenity!" he yelled. But it was only a dream.

**And I feel it now**

**You're the one I need**

A week later found Will once more on the steps of the governor's household, the sword in his hands. He was welcomed into their home once more, a familiar face, and he waited for the governor in his parlor. He saw a light fixture and touched it, and it broke off in his hands. _Much like everything else that I've ever touched,_ he thought dryly as he hid it in an umbrella stand. 

**I believe that I would cry just a little**

**Just to have you back now**

**Here with me**

               "Good day, Sir, I have your order," he said, drawing the sword out of its scabbard. "The blade is folded steel, that's gold filigree laid into the handle. If I may?"

               Elizabeth looked as beautiful as ever, but everything was tainted now. His world was tainted, and the only time he could forget about everything seemed to be when he was around Elizabeth.

               "At least one more time, as always, Miss Swann…" 

**Here with me**


	26. Epilogue II: Serenity

The song is "And the Hero Will Drown" by Story of the Year.

~*~

Epilogue II  

Serenity  

~*~

**The night will come**

**And rip away  
  
**

Serenity sat on the _Vengeance _alone and numb to all thought and all feeling. The room that she was trapped in was empty except for a few crates and a few rats, and it was dank and dark. Everything felt wrong, as if she was trapped inside some kind of horrible nightmare. 

               Well, she _was _trapped inside a horrible nightmare, so that could explain something.

**Her wings of innocence through every word we say**

               Once again she broke down into tears. _Where do I go from here? _She thought miserably. _I've lost everything…Will's dead…Connor's dead…that bastard Daniel! I'm trapped on this ship with him and with no one at the same time! I'll have to stay here until I die, being robbed of every sense of self…being taken advantage of…_ She shuddered at the thought of what these pirates would do to her, to her body, to her spirit. _I've lost._

               _Why did Daniel take me?_ She wondered. _What use does he have for me here? Why could he have not let me run off and continue living?_

**Maybe it's time  
to spit out the core of our rotting union  
  
**

               _I'm still living, _replied a strong voice in the back of her head. _They haven't defeated me yet. I will build a shell around myself. I will feel nothing. No matter what they do to my body, I won't let myself feel a thing. I can't afford to let myself feel anything. I won't let them beat me. _

               The sky was dark outside the single porthole that the room boasted. She watched the stars pass overhead for a long time until she got up and opened the door. They had not locked her in. She had stayed in that room out of choice.

**Hopefully before it chokes  
us to our senses  
  
**

               The ship was not asleep, but she had the darkness to her advantage. Serenity hid in the shadows as she crept to a quiet spot next to the rail. Slowly she reached up and grasped the top rim of the rail with both of her hands, pulling herself up off of the wooden floor of the deck of the ship. She stepped up onto the bottom rail and regained her balance.

               _I won't let them beat me. They can't kill me. I'm already dead. _

**Guess it's too bad  
that everything we have  
is taken away **

               She stepped up to the next railing, feeling her back revealed by the light. Her shadow was cast out onto the sea as she reached the next railing and prepared to reach over to the other side.

               _I'm already dead._

**Swim in the smoke  
the hero will drown**__

"Ay! She's gonna jump!" cried one of the pirates. One of the men sprang across the deck; agile as a cat, as she felt her fingers loosen and slip off the railing. As if she was in a dream she saw the pirate leap towards her and grab her hand from where it hung in midair. She found herself out of the dream, crashing to the deck in utter defeat.

               "Ye no use to us if ye dead!" said one of the men. Serenity could make out the features of the man that had 'saved' her in the dim light. He reminded her of Will, but there was hardness in his eyes where in Will's there was a sweet vulnerability. 

**Intoxicating beauty tears everything down**

               "I hate you," Serenity whispered to the man.

**But still our hands are  
bound at the wrist**

               "I know," he replied. She could hear Daniel's laughter from the opposite side of the deck, she heard him say something about 'my little toy.' Serenity watched her rescuer disappear back into the shadows as the first man bound her feet and her hands together again.

               "We're a bunch a' lonely men," he said, his golden teeth gleaming in the light. "Ye wouldn't rob of us of our on'y company now would ye?" Serenity remained silent as she leaned her head against the railing and stared at the man until he went away. Someone took her back down to the compartment that they had christened as her room.

**This romantic tragedy is suffocating from your fist   
in a sea of fire **

               _I wish I could remember those old stories about the pirates,_ she thought as she watched the shadows shift in her room. _What was that word? …_

**Guess it's to bad,  
that everything we have  
is taken away   **

**Hero, Hero, this word you'll never know   
  
**

               "Parley," she whispered as she slumped down against the boxes in her room into a restless sleep. 

**Guess it's too bad   
that everything we have  
is taken away.  
Away, away, away. They're taking it away**

~*~

Authors Note

~*~ 

For my final word, I would like to thank each and every one of the reviewers that ever read even one word of my story. I never dreamed that it would be this successful and I can only hope that you all like the second one as much as you liked this one. Are Will and Serenity meant to be? Only I can say…and I'm not going to, so please check out the second one. I'll post a link here on this authors note and email any of you that want me to when I post The Loved and the Lost II. 

**Eyana **my first review on this fic! I'm glad that you liked it and returned to review later chapters. 

**FreakishlyDisturbed13** I'm sure you speak for all the Orlando Bloom fans with the middle name of Elizabeth! But I like that name, however bratty Miss Swann may be. :0)

**Zeech **thank you for offering your thoughts on the whole Mary Sue/OC issue. They were very appreciated.

**LadyFae **that's what sequels are for! ;) 

**NinaC **thank you so much. I feel so flattered! 

**Dreamweaver **gracias! 

**Truffles**, who left their first review on chapter 5 and has still returned! I'm so happy that you liked it enough to review every single chapter that you missed while you were on vacation! It brought a smile to my face when I opened my mailbox and saw all these FanFiction.Net Review Alerts from you! 

NvilleSweetY05 don't die! I can't be held responsible for something like that! :0) 

**JHTM-Gurl **we had ourselves a deal, savvy? I did write more! LOL 

**Miss PunK **yay! 


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